Mason Park
by McB
Summary: A complicated accident changes Chandler's life, in more ways than one. {finished}
1. chapter one

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Mason Park - Chapter One

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The deep buzzing of the alarm clock roused Monica from her peaceful sleep. She blindly reached her hand out to turn it off before rolling over and facing her husband of three years.

A smile spread across her face as she watched him sleep. She slowly leaned forward and brushed his lips with her own.

He stirred slightly and rolled onto his back.

"Chandler." Monica whispered in his ear. "Time to get up."

Chandler rolled onto his stomach, stuffing his head between two pillows. "No, I don't want to go to work. Just ten more minutes, or maybe an hour."

Monica laughed lightly and pulled the pillow off of his head. "Come on, sweety. You don't have to go to work, you have the day off."

"Then why are you waking me up at such an ungodly hour?" He rolled back onto his back and squinted at her through the early morning light.

"Because we have an appointment to go to. Now come on, I don't want to be late." She threw the pillow at him and attempted to sit up.

Chandler moved the sheets off of him and got out of bed, heading toward the bedroom door.

"Chandler! Where are you going? Help me!" Monica cried as she continued her attempts at getting out of the bed on her own.

He laughed and walked around to the other side of the bed, grabbing both of her hands and pulling her up. He leaned down to kiss her but she pushed him away and turned to put her robe on. "You're just lucky we don't have a giant beach ball that I could tape to your stomach."

"Yea, but I wouldn't make as much of a beautiful pregnant woman as you do." He smiled and followed her out to the kitchen.

Monica smiled at his comment while she poured a cup of coffee. "I'm still not going to kiss you."

Chandler wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Then _I'll_ kiss _you_." He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her swollen belly.

"OK, you're cute, I get it. But go get in the shower, your little not funny joke set us back two minutes, we cannot be late for this appointment. Go!" Monica laughed as he hurriedly stumbled into the bathroom.

* * *

"So what is the point of this appointment?" Chandler asked, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at Monica.

"It's just a check-up. To make sure the baby is healthy and everything." Monica smiled down at her stomach as she rubbed small circles around it.

They had refused to believe that what the doctor said about them never being able to have child was true, and now here they were, just one month from having a little baby boy.

"When we get home you have to get right to work on painting the nursery. I already asked Joey and Ross and they said that they would come over and help you today."

"You know, I thought I was supposed to _relax _on my day off, not work harder than I do at my actual job."

"I want this done, Chandler. There is still a bunch of stuff that we have to get done. We still don't even have a crib! Or a name!" Monica panicked.

"Monica, it's fine. Don't worry, we'll get it all done in time." Chandler laughed, glancing over at his wife.

"Speaking of names, what do you think we should name him?"

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. I _know _you've been thinking about this since you were a little girl, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking...."

The words coming from Monica's mouth faded out, along with all of the other sounds of the city.

The image of a taxi driving across the Washington Bridge flashed before him, seconds later it was replaced by reality.

He shook his head and focused on the road in front of him, trying to pay attention what Monica was saying.

"I like the name Scott but...."

Again, everything faded out and the same image appeared, but this time, the taxi swerved to the right, narrowly missing something in the road.

Reality replaced it once again and Monica continued to ramble on, engrossed in her one sided discussion, completely unaware of what was happening.

He took his left hand off the steering wheel and rubbed his eyes. _What the hell is going on?_ He thought to himself.

For the third time, the image reappeared. This time it continued it's swerving path into an area where they were doing some sort of construction on the bride. Part of the railing was missing and the taxi soared off the bridge and to the water below.

Just before the car hit the water, Monica's voice snapped him back to reality. "Chandler, watch out!" She screamed.

But it was too late.

* * *

The darkness was lonely, but strangely comforting. It was like a warm blanket on a cold winter day.

A sharp, rhythmic beeping was the only thing that could be heard through the deafening silence.

His eyes franticly searched in front of him, but nothing was there.

A small click added to the beeping and a strange yellow-orange light appeared.

He fought to open his eyes and finally succeeded, but all that could be seen was a light.

_Is this that light at the end of the tunnel all these dying people keep talking about?_ He thought.

Another click and the light suddenly disappeared, a doctor and a nurse standing above him took it's place.

The doctor looked down at him and wrinkled his forehead. "Mr. Bing? Can you hear me?"

Chandler tried to speak but he could only let out a low groan that the pain of moving caused him.

"Mr. Bing, can you tell me what the last thing you remember is?" The doctor asked, writing something down on his clipboard.

He tried to think back, but found the he couldn't recall his last conscious moments.

"No." He rasped, his throat dry and sore.

The doctor continued to write, not once looking up as the nurse buzzed around him, fiddling with the machines and checking him over.

The nurse finished what she was doing and looked up at the doctor. "Should I tell his friends that he's awake?" She asked.

"Yes, tell them they can come in, but just for a little while, Mr. Bing needs his rest."

The nurse left and the doctor finished writing, sticking his clipboard under his arm and putting the cap back on his pen.

"Mr. Bing, I've got to go run a few tests and check on some other patients, but I'll be back here to explain everything later this evening." With that, he left the room, not waiting for Chandler to respond.

A few minutes after he left, Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica filed into the room. A smile spreading across each of their faces upon seeing him. _Where's Joey?_

Monica was different though, very different.

Her stomach was no longer round, but now was flat. Her hair was slightly shorter and she wasn't wearing her wedding ring. She never used to take it off.

Panicked coursed through him, had she lost the baby? But she wouldn't be up and in his room if she had lost the baby.

"Hey Chandler." Rachel smiled and sat down on his left, taking his hand and rubbing it.

"It's so good to see you." Phoebe smiled, tears in her eyes as she sat down on his right side.

Ross and Monica both sat on the end of his bed, careful not to sit on his feet.

"What's going on?" He asked, looking between Rachel and Phoebe.

"Chandler, do you remember what happened?" Ross asked.

"No, I don't think so. The doctor already asked me that." He replied, franticly glancing at all of them.

"Where's Joey, why isn't he here?"

"Wow, he doesn't remember anything." Monica whispered to Ross, but not quiet enough to escape Chandler's ears.

"What? What happened to Joey?" He attempted to sit up but Rachel and Phoebe gently pushed him back down.

"No, Chandler, don't get up. Joey's fine, he's alright." Rachel reassured him and sat back in her chair.

"Well then where is he?" Chandler's eyes darted from one person to the next, they all knew something that he didn't.

Everybody looked to Monica. "So I guess I'll explain this one then?"

"Monica, the doctor said we should stick to more neutral--" Ross warned in a low, quiet voice but was cut off by Phoebe.

"Shut up, Ross. Doctor's don't know anything, he can't remember and he has a right to know what's going on."

An awkward silence filled the room before Monica spoke again. "Anyway..."

Chandler kept his focus on her as she spoke.

"Do you remember a girl named Janine?" She asked.

_Janine. Janine. Janine. Yes! The dancer!_

"Yea, I do." He replied, sitting forward like a child listening to his grandmother tell a story.

"Well, you were living with Joey when he was dating her. He was off on an audition when Janine came over. It had been raining for the past few days and when she showed up, she was soaked to the bone. When Joey came home, he found you guys on the couch, she was wrapped in a blanket, wearing only panties and a bra. He immediately suspected the worst and packed his bags. You spent days calling him but he wouldn't come back." Monica paused and looked back up to Chandler.

"He moved to Los Angeles five years ago. He came back for Thanksgiving the first year, but there was too much tension between all of us and he hasn't been back to see us since. He's called a few times, but we haven't heard from him in a few months. He said he's doing pretty well. He's starred in a few movies and he's been guest starring on a lot of shows. You haven't spoken to him since that Thanksgiving." Monica stopped and looked at Chandler again, trying to gage the expression on his face. "That's pretty much just the nutshell of it."

"I'm sorry, honey." Rachel said, patting his arm.

"He doesn't know about this yet. We haven't called him." Ross said quietly, still not looking at Chandler.

"How--how long have I been here?" Chandler asked, his eyes transfixed on the blanket in front of him.

"Just a few days. We wanted to wait and talk to you before calling him." Phoebe said.

A nurse poked her head in the room and looked at the friends sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over."

"Can you just give us a minute?" Monica asked.

The nurse nodded her head. "Make it a quick one."

"Well, I guess we have to go. We'll be back first thing in the morning though." Phoebe stood up but leaned back down to give him a hug. Everybody else followed suit before heading to the door.

"Do you want us to call Joey?" Rachel asked.

Chandler honestly didn't know, would he really care after what he did to him? "Sure, I don't care." He shrugged.

"OK, goodnight Chandler." Monica smiled, everybody said their good-nights and left, leaving him alone in his stark white hospital room.

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to be continued.....

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_I know that I said that I'd finish my other fics before starting another one, but I'm absolutely confident that I can actually finish this one. I've already written about eight chapters, maybe. So, all you have to do is review this one and I'll put up the next chapter. But I'm begging all of you, please please please review! I don't get many reviews for my stories and I just can't stand it, because it doesn't seem worth it to go through writing another chapter if that's not gonna get any reviews either. So please review!_


	2. chapter two

Mason Park - Chapter Two

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About half an hour after everybody left, the doctor came back to his room to talk to him about the accident and his condition.

He pulled up a chair next to his bed and took a seat, sliding a pen out of his shirt pocket, his clipboard at the ready.

"You know, you look like a shrink when you sit like that?" Chandler gave a small laugh, despite the situation, he still felt the urge to hide beneath the laughter.

The doctor looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, that's not the first time I've heard that."

Chandler's laugh faded to a smile as the doctor initiated the purpose of his presence.

"So, Chandler, can you tell me the very last thing you remember?" The doctor asked, pushing his glasses back up when they slipped to the tip of his nose.

"I--I really can't. The life I remember all seems to be just a dream now." He sighed, remembering back to before the accident.

"Well, why don't you explain this _dream_?"

Chandler smiled at the thought of a pregnant Monica. "Well, I was married to Monica and she was pregnant with our first child, a baby boy. Now she's not my wife anymore and she's not carrying my child. My friend Joey lived across the hall, now he lives in Los Angeles and I guess we're not friends anymore. Ross lived across the street with his girlfriend Rachel and daughter Emma. And Phoebe and Mike lived together. I don't know if Ross and Rachel and Phoebe and Mike are still together, we never got that far."

"Well," The doctor started. "I don't know much about the life you and your friends had before last Friday, but I can tell you that you are not married to Monica, and no she is not carrying your child. I can't tell you about Joey, or Rachel, or Ross, or Phoebe, or Mike. I can tell you that this is real though. And from the tests I got back, I can also tell you that you have amnesia. We're hoping it's just temporary. We have to keep you here for a few more days to see the full extent of it. It could take days, weeks, months, even years to get your memory back, and even then, it's not for sure that you're going to get all of it back. You won't get it all back at once, it will come in bits and pieces." The doctor stopped and stared at Chandler for a few seconds.

"Do you remember the accident?" He asked.

Chandler's eyes didn't move from the blanket that covered his legs. He didn't want to believe this, this couldn't be real. He was happy, he had a wife, he had a baby, he had a family, how could all of that be just a dream? "No, I don't."

"I can tell you now, or you can wait and see if it comes back to you."

"I want to wait, I want to do this on my own, I don't want anybody to tell me anything else."

"OK, that's fine. I will tell you about your injuries though." For this, the doctor stopped and flipped a few papers over on his clipboard. "You broke your left ankle, as you can probably already tell by the cast. You also broke your right arm, again you can tell by the cast. Other than that, it's pretty much just scratch and dent. I can't really tell you much else without telling you what happened, so we'll just hold off on that. Do you have any questions?"

Chandler shook his head, still not looking up at him.

The doctor sighed as he stood up. I'm sorry about this Chandler. Nobody wanted this to happen, but never give up. It's going to be hard, but _never _stop trying. Now get some rest, it's late." The doctor glanced at his watch and headed for the door. "I'll be back in the morning."

Once the doctor was gone, Chandler laid his head back, staring up at the white ceiling. Why did this have to happen to him? Of all the people in the world. He was finally happy, he had everything he could have ever asked for, and now he got the one thing he prayed would never happen.

To have it all taken away.

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They all arrived back at Monica's apartment, deciding against sitting around at Central Perk, they needed a quiet place to talk.

"Should we call Joey now?" Phoebe asked after sitting down on the couch in between Monica and Ross.

Everybody looked to Monica again. "Alright, but _you_ guys have to do _some_thing."

She reached over and took the phone out of it's cradle, quickly dialing Joey's number and putting it to her ear.

After three rings, Joey's voice came over the line.

"Joey Tribbiani." He answered in a somewhat cheerful voice.

"Hey Joey! It's Monica."

"Monica? Wow, I haven't talked to you in a while. I think the last time I talked to _you _was last year. How are ya?"

"I'm good, I'm good. Listen, there's a reason I'm calling. It's Chandler." She waited for him to respond before continuing.

"Wha..what about him?" He was quick to wipe the smile from his face and replace the happy tone of his voice with one of slight anger.

"He...he was in an accident." She said quietly, trying not to cry again.

"Is he...is he OK?"

"Well, he's alive. He doesn't remember anything, Joe. He doesn't remember what happened between you guys, he doesn't remember you moving away, he doesn't remember the fight you guys got into when you broke the fooseball table, he doesn't remember--"

"I got it, Mon. He doesn't remember."

"Joey, I know this isn't what you really want to deal with right now, but I think you should come out here and talk to him. You haven't seen each other in over five years."

Joey took a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can't get out there right now, Monica. I'm really busy, I've got things lined up for the next few weeks. And--"

"Joey. I'm not asking you to forgive him and drop all of this stuff between you. I know this doesn't change anything, but you never even let him tell his side of the story, and now he doesn't remember it."

Both Monica and Joey were on the verge of crying and they knew if one started, the other would go too. "Monica, I can't come out right now. I'll try to get out there but don't expect me any time soon. It was nice talking to you again. Tell everybody I said hi."

He hung up the phone and left Monica to a dial tone.

She slowly pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed the off button before setting it back in it's cradle.

She looked over at the waiting faces of Ross, Phoebe and Rachel.

"He's not coming." She said quietly.

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Chandler was blankly staring out the window of his room when Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica came in the next morning.

"Morning, Chandler." Monica said, walking over and sitting next to him on his bed to give him a hug.

"Oh, hey guys." He smiled up at them, trying his best to appear happy. After the doctor had left last night, he thought a lot about the future, and about what he had lost. The life he had before could not have been a dream. It just wasn't possible, and neither was this.

"Did you guys talk to Joey?" He asked, looking between all of them.

Monica looked to the others before looking back down at Chandler. "Yea we did honey. He said he's really busy and that he'll try to get out here, but he probably won't be able to come any time soon. I'm sorry." She sat back down and rubbed his neck.

"So, why don't you guys tell me about yourselves? I don't mean like where you grew up and stuff, I know all that, but what's going on with you right now?"

Before they came to see him this morning, his doctor stopped them in the hallway and told them about his situation. About the amnesia and how he wanted to remember everything on his own.

"I guess we could do that." Ross said as Rachel sat down on his lap.

"I'll go first!" Phoebe threw her arm in the air excitedly.

"OK, calm down." Chandler laughed, putting his hands up in front of him.

"Well, I'm married to a guy named Mike, whom I met when Rachel, Monica, and I went to a karaoke bar."

_Well, Joey couldn't have set them up if he was in Los Angeles. _He thought, remembering back to when Joey had picked a random guy to be Phoebe's date.

"We've been married for just over a year. You actually gave me away at our wedding since my dad couldn't get out of prison, Joey was in LA, and Ross had to carry Mike's family dog down the isle." Phoebe laughed and pointed at Ross in a joking manner. "He went to visit his parents a few days ago and said that he'd come by when he got back. We've been trying to have a baby for a few months, and I was going to wait to tell you guys but..I'm pregnant!" She yelled, jumping up into the air when Monica, Rachel, and Ross went over to congratulate her.

Chandler winced at the word pregnant. He was no longer a soon-to-be father, and now Phoebe was a soon-to-be mother.

He smiled up at her when she turned to him. "I'm happy for you." He said quietly, still trying to appear upbeat about it.

"OK, I'll go next. Rachel said, sitting back down on Ross' lap. "Well, Ross and I had a baby, Emma, about two years ago. My boyfriend had dumped me and Ross was there to comfort me, we went to a bar, got drunk, and well, you can imagine what happened after that. We decided to start dating again after she was born and we've been together ever since. I live at his place across the street from Monica." She smiled and leaned down to kiss Ross sweetly on the lips.

"My story is pretty much the same, except I never had a boyfriend." Ross laughed and looked to Monica.

"Well," Monica started. "I still live in the same apartment, obviously. I've been dating a guy since around the time that Phoebe and Mike got married, I actually met him at their wedding. His name is Tom and he's really nice. You two actually hang out quite a bit and get along really well. He's on a business trip in Boston, which is why he hasn't been here yet."

Chandler stared at her intently after she finished, he was very curious about the life she had without him. _But are you happy? _He asked in his head, dying to know the answer.

"Well it sounds like you guys are doing well for yourselves." He smiled, picking at the edge of the blanket that had become his distraction. "So what about me?" He asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

Ross cleared his throat and shot everybody else a worried glance before starting. "You, um, just got out of a two year relationship with a girl named Ashley. She's a singer, not real famous or anything. For the past few months, she's been spending a lot of time recording her first album and couldn't find much for you. You guys had a pretty healthy breakup, nothing was thrown or broken." Ross smiled when Chandler laughed.

"You still live in the apartment that you've been in for over ten years. And you still have the same job that you've had since you started renting that apartment, simply because you're too afraid to quit." Ross smiled again when Chandler laughed.

Chandler closed his eyes for a minute and rested his head back. This was going to take some getting used to, especially without Joey around to talk to.

_It'll be easier when you get home._ He had to stay strong, he couldn't tell everybody about how his life had taken a tumble, they would think he was crazy.

Joey would have believed him though.

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to be continued.....

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_Wow, thank you SO much for the reviews! That's the most I've ever gotten on one chapter! Now let's try and beat that with chapter two! School started September 1st and I haven't written anymore to this story since before them, I just have absolutely no time. So I might be spacing these updates out a little more so I don't run out of chapters before I get a chance to write more. _

_I'm going to leave you guys with a question (it has something to do with this girl in my biology class, I'll explain next time I update). _

_Do you know what a snowblower is?_

_Please review! _

_-McB_


	3. chapter three

Mason Park - Chapter Three

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_Three days later....._

"Well, it's good to be out of that bed, and that hospital." Chandler commented as he, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, and Ross walked up the stairs.

Monica and Ross were holding on to him, helping him up each step with his broken ankle.

They reached their floor and Rachel handed him his crutch.

"Could you guys give me some time alone?" He asked, looking to all of them before he opened the door to his apartment.

"Oh, no problem, what ever you need, you got it. We'll just be over here." Monica said, motioning toward her door.

"OK, thanks you guys, for everything." He smiled before opening his door and hobbling inside.

It looked the same, save for the absence of the fooseball table. Instead a square, brown table sat in it's place, surrounded by four chairs.

The barca loungers were still there, the couch, the entertainment center with the TV that appeared "as if from nowhere", and the big white dog, tucked away in the corner of the room.

Before going into his own room, he went over to Joey's _old _room and opened the door.

The only occupants of the room were a metal bed frame with a box spring and mattress on top of it, an empty dresser, and a bare night table. The window blinds were drawn shut, sealing off all light from the room except for where the door was open.

Everything was dusty, the closet doors were open, and the bed had no sheets on it. Nobody had probably been in here since Joey left.

He quietly shut the door, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He went over to his room as quickly as possible and opened the door, quickly shutting it behind him and throwing himself on the bed.

The room was the same as it had been before he moved in with Monica.

He angrily threw his crutch across the room, knocking a lamp off of his dresser in the process.

He closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him away from the reality that he swore was just a dream.

* * *

_Five hours later....._

"Chandler?" Monica knocked on his apartment door, waiting for an answer.

When one never came, she let herself in, heading for his bedroom door.

Again she raised her hand and knocked on the door. "Chandler, are you in there?"

He didn't answer so she opened the door, poking her head around it.

She looked down at him, tangled in his sheets, his clothes wrinkled, his face covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Deciding against waking him, she quietly shut his door and headed back to her own apartment.

"He's sleeping." She said when she walked through the door. "I'll just fix him a plate of food in case he's hungry later."

A couple minutes passed before anybody said anything again.

"So, what do we do now?" Rachel asked, her eyes fixed on the empty plate in front of her.

"Well, we could watch a movie or--" Phoebe started, oblivious to the actual meaning of Rachel's question.

"No, not like right now. What do we do about Chandler? Do we just go back to normal? What happens now?" Rachel cut in.

Monica stopped washing the dishes and slowly turned around to look at her. "I...I don't know. I never thought about that." She took off her rubber gloves and threw them on the counter before moving to sit at the table. "I guess we just wait and see what happens."

* * *

_He quickly got in the car and told the driver where to go before opening his briefcase and sorting through some papers._

_A few minutes later, the taxi got on a bridge, just as the driver dropped the cigarette he was smoking. _

_His hand searched the floor beneath him, but found nothing. He bent down so he could reach his hand further but still, nothing._

_He took his eyes off the road, and bent his head underneath the steering wheel._

_A car horn blared and his head shot up, swerving just in time to miss the oncoming traffic, but he swerved into a construction zone where cars were not allowed._

_The car swerved back and forth, just narrowly missing machines and other large equipment. The driver lost control and hit the bridge railing. _

_The taxi and its two passengers went careening over the bridge, free-falling toward the water below._

Chandler shot up in bed, his breathing erratic, his pupils dilated, his head splitting in two.

His t-shirt was soaked through with sweat, he hastily pulled it over his head and threw it to a corner of the room before standing up on unsteady legs to get his crutch.

He exited his bedroom just as Monica entered the apartment.

"Hey, you're awake. Where's your shirt?"

He blinked at her a couple of times, his brain trying to register her words. He waved a hand behind him, motioning toward his room. He was too shaky to form words as the pain in his head became more and more unbearable.

"Are you OK? You don't look so good." Monica walked over to him and put a hand on his chest to steady him. "Chandler, you're burning up."

He took a few deep breaths before attempting to walk toward the bathroom. "I know." He croaked out, his throat dry and scratchy. "I need--something." He waved his hand toward the bathroom and started walking toward it.

"No, Chandler, sit down. Let me get it. What do you need?" Monica asked, pressing her hands firmly on his chest to stop him from going any further.

He plopped back onto the couch and attempted to sooth his migraine by rubbing his temples. "The little orange pill bottle. It should be the only one in there."

Monica hurriedly walked into the bathroom and searched the medicine cabinet for the pills. "Got 'em!" She yelled, holding the bottle triumphantly up in the air before filling a glass with water and bringing both things out to him.

He opened the bottle and poured two pills into his hand, throwing them into his mouth and then drinking the whole glass of water.

Monica took a seat next to him on the couch and gave him a worried look. "Better?"

Chandler closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the couch. "They don't start working right away, Monica." He said, sounding irritated. He mentally kicked himself for using that tone with her.

A good five minutes passed without words spoken. Monica looked up at Chandler again, his head was still rested back and his forehead was wrinkled.

"Do you think every thing is going to be OK?" She asked, looking back across the apartment.

He opened one eye and glanced down at her, still keeping his head where it was. "It has to." He answered nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?"

Chandler sighed and sat forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Well, when I first moved out here by myself after college--before I started hanging out with you guys--I had this friend that really put life clearly for me. He said, life does not have two roads, it's just one. You're driving your car down that road at a mile a minute, and you can't stop it. Your car is time. And along the way, you find things that you bring with you. People you meet, friends you make, houses, cars, pretty much anything that makes a big impact on your life, is a hitch hiker. They get in your car, and you bring them to where they want to go, they just come along for the ride, but you are the one driving, it's your choice as to where you go. And when your car breaks down, so do you, you're done, finished, terminated. I know that may not make much sense, but it really does to me."

Monica pondered his theory for a few seconds before looking back to him.

"What happened to him?" She asked.

"I don't know, nobody does. He moved to Los Angeles--he was a musician--and then we never saw him again. Never heard from him again. His parents don't even know where he is. He could be dead for all we know."

"Huh." Monica nodded her head and leaned back, failing to stifle a yawn.

"Hey, how long was I asleep for?" He asked, looking around for a clock.

"About six hours. You must have been tired. It's about midnight by the way."

He stopped looking around and focused on her. The apartment was dark, the only thing lighting it being the moon. She was just as beautiful as he could remember, possibly even more, but he wasn't allowed to have those thoughts anymore, she wasn't his.

"What, do I have something on my face?" Monica asked, her hand flying up to search for anything on her head that wasn't supposed to be there.

"No, no, I was just thinking. You should go to bed, you look exhausted." He said, rubbing his thumb along her jaw.

"Yea, I am. There's a plate of food for you in your refrigerator in case you get hungry." Monica replied as she stood up and headed for the door.

"Night Monica." Chandler waved his hand and she gave a smile before closing the door behind her. "God, why does it hurt so much?" He said to the empty apartment.

* * *

_the next day (monday)....._

Ross, Phoebe, and Rachel were already over at Monica's when Chandler arrived.

"Morning guys." He said, taking a seat at the table.

"Hey Chandler. Monica said you had a really bad headache last night, are you OK?" Ross asked, taking a bite of his eggs.

"Yea, I'm fine now. The painkillers my doctor gave me really go far, ya know?"

"Are you sure you should be taking them for headaches though?" Rachel asked, stealing some of Ross's food to give to Emma.

"Oh, I'm sure it's OK. Nothing bad has happened so far." He smiled and took a sip of his coffee that Monica had placed in front of him.

"Good morning everybody." A man said, walking in the door and going over to give Monica a kiss.

Chandler almost shot out of his chair to jump on the man that was kissing Monica, but quickly remembered that she wasn't his wife and threw Ross a confused glance.

"_Tom_." Ross mouthed before taking another bite of food.

Chandler looked back up at the man that now had Monica locked in a passionate kiss. He didn't look too bad, the suit he was wearing and briefcase in his hand didn't really scream serial killer.

Once Tom was done kissing Monica he walked over to Chandler and placed his hand on his shoulder. He flinched at the man's touch but tried to hide his hatred for him the best he could.

"Chandler, I heard what happened, I'm sorry I couldn't get here any sooner, I had back to back meetings. How are you feeling?"

Chandler swallowed the coffee that he had had in his mouth since Tom walked in and stood up. "I'm doing OK. I feel fine so that must mean I'm doing _pretty_ good."

Tom burst out laughing and Chandler jumped back at his over enthusiastic response. Tom slapped him on the back and Chandler fell back into his chair. "Well, I'd love to stay here and catch up with you guys but I've got to get in to work. I'll see you all later." Tom rushed out of the apartment and Chandler turned to Monica.

"I hope he's not like that in bed." He joked and took another sip of his coffee. Monica walked past him and slapped him on the shoulder as Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross started laughing.

"Well I happen to..." Ross's voice faded out, just like Monica's had in the car before the crash, along with all other sounds.

A flash of white came before him and then the image of his apartment, but Joey was there too.

_"God, Chandler! I can't believe you would do this to me! First Kathy and now Janine! I thought you were a better friend than that!" Joey screamed, walking into his room and grabbing a suitcase._

_"Joey, nothing happened! I swear my life on it! I can't believe you think I would do something like this!" Chandler screamed, trying to get Joey to stop throwing clothes into the case._

_"Well, that's what I thought when I was going out with Kathy. But I guess I was wrong! I can't trust you anymore, Chandler!" Joey threw his closet open, angrily grabbing clothes and stuffing them into the suitcase._

_"Joey stop! You're not leaving!" Chandler stepped in front of Joey, blocking his path to the closet._

_"Get out of the way!" Joey pushed Chandler but he didn't fall, he stumbled back a few steps before pushing Joey back. Joey fell out into the main area of the apartment and stood up._

_He swung his fist at Chandler and hit him square in the jaw. Chandler fell back against the wall, holding his jaw in his hand. He brought it away from his face and looked down to find blood on his fingers. He swung back at Joey but he ducked, narrowly missing Chandler's fist. _

_Joey wrapped his arms around Chandler and tackled him into the fooseball table, both men flipping over it, smashing the wood to pieces in the process._

Chandler came back to reality and gasped for breath. The pain mounted in his head and he stood up, only to fall down to his knees.

Monica had stopped talking and they all rushed to Chandler's aid. "Chandler!" Rachel screamed, flying out of her chair and to his side.

"Chandler?" Ross yelled. "Can you hear me?"

_Joey landed on top of Chandler, pummeling his fists into his face. Chandler brought his knee up and hit Joey in the back, sending him rolling to the side._

_Chandler quickly stood up and kicked Joey in the side once before letting him get up. Joey tackled him to the ground again just as Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica came rushing into the apartment._

_Joey was vaguely aware that somebody had wrapped their arms around him and were attempting to pull him off of Chandler. "Get off of him! What are you doing?" He recognized the voice as Ross's and didn't fight when he pulled him up. _

_He looked back to Chandler and saw that Monica and Phoebe were helping him to his feet._

"Chandler?" Ross yelled again.

Chandler took deep breaths as he sat down, leaning heavily against the door. "I'm OK, Monica, go get the pills."

"You're in the way, I can't get out." Monica stated, helping Chandler scoot to the side so she could open the door.

She rushed out of the apartment and was back within seconds with two pills in her hand, a glass of water in the other.

He quickly swallowed the pills and handed the glass back to Monica, resting his head against the door.

Rachel, Ross, and Phoebe stood speechless, shocked by the scene they had just witnessed.

"What's going on?" Phoebe asked, looking from Monica to Chandler.

"I don't know, I get these really bad headaches whenever I remember something. It's like my brain is forcing the memories back to me." Chandler replied, his eyes still closed.

"You want to go sit on the couch for a while? I've got to go to work, but you can stay here if you want." Monica said, waving her hand toward the couch.

"No, I've got stuff to do today anyway. Plus I should really go see my doctor about these." Phoebe and Ross helped Chandler stand up.

"Are you going to be OK by yourself?" Rachel asked, glancing over to check on Emma. "I can stay home you know."

"No, no, I'll be fine. You have a job to go to anyway." Chandler smiled and put his hand on the door handle.

"I'm gonna go lay down for a while but I'll see you guys when you get home OK?" He opened the door and waved to his four remaining friends before heading back to his own.

* * *

to be continued.....

* * *

_So I think that's a pretty good update. A nice long chapter, possibly long enough to leave me lots of reviews? I'm just kidding. About the snow blower question last week, I was just asking because a girl in my biology class had no idea what a snow blower was and I thought that was kind of sad, I mean, living in Minnesota and everything. People put more miles on their snow blowers than on their cars in this state! But she was from California, so I'll let that one slide._

_Anyway, I've had a fun week. Two weeks ago, my great aunt died, Tuesday was the wake, and Wednesday was the funeral...how fun. I got to meet a lot of relatives that I haven't seen since before I had teeth, so that was pretty cool. But the majority of them were old, so I just hung out with my cousins when we went out to lunch with all of them._

_But enough of my pointless rambling...I'll let you get to your reviewing! Thanks!_

_-McB_


	4. chapter four

__

Mason Park - Chapter Four

* * *

_Three hours later....._

After Chandler had returned from Monica's apartment, he had taken a short nap and then set about his tasks for the day.

Everybody had gone off to work and wouldn't be back until at least five, that gave him plenty of time alone.

He dug through the drawers in his room, looking through stacks of papers, searching through his night table until he finally found what he was looking for.

He stared down at the piece of paper, reading the few words it had on it.

_ Ashely Carson -_

_ 555-1708_

He stuffed the small paper in his pocket and went into the kitchen, searching everywhere until he came up with the phone book.

The large book had thousands upon thousands of names in it, but he only wanted to find one.

_Carson, Aaron: Carson, Adam: Carson, Ashton . _He slowly dragged his finger down the page, reading off each name as his finger touched it.

_Carson, Ashely!_ He scribbled the address down on the same piece of paper and threw the phone book back in the drawer he found it in.

He put on his jacket, grabbed his keys, and wrote a quick note to anybody that would come back to his apartment looking for him.

_Went out for a walk and to get some other things taken care of. I don't know when I'll be back._

_-Chandler_

It was simple and enough to ease them from worrying about where he was.

He walked as fast as he could back into his room to grab his crutch and left the apartment.

* * *

Half an hour later, he was standing in front of her door with a small, nervous smile on his face.

He raised his fist and knocked on the door three times before stuffing his hand back in his pocket.

Footsteps could be heard and then the giggling of locks on the door before it opened fully to reveal a tall, skinny, beautiful, golden haired woman with eyes blue enough to match his own. She was dressed in jeans and a dark green t-shirt that fit her perfectly.

"Ch--Chandler." She stuttered, a smile crossing her face as she took a few steps forward to wrap her arms around him in a friendly hug. "What are you doing here? What's with the crutch, and the cast?" She asked, motioning to the crutch under his arm and the cast around his other one.

"It's, well, it's a really long story. I was wondering if I could talk to you?" He asked shyly. He had known this woman for two years, but to him, she was a complete stranger.

"Well-" She started.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you busy? I can come back later." He rushed, turning to walk back down the hallway.

"No! No, Chandler, I'm not busy." She laughed, pulling him back toward the door. "Come on in."

Chandler hesitantly walked into the large apartment with Ashely gently pushing him from behind.

"Wow." He said quietly, gazing around at the perfectly decorated room.

"Wow? Chandler you've been in here like 800 times." Ashely laughed, walking over toward the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Um, coffee's fine." He said, running his hand across the back of the suede couch as he walked around it.

Ashely returned a few minutes later with two coffee cups, gently setting them on the table between the two couches.

"So, what brings you here?" She asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Well, um," He cleared his throat and wiggled around on the couch a little bit. "I was in an accident, I guess, I don't really remember what happened, and-" He stopped and cleared his throat again. "I, kinda, got amnesia, I guess." He finished and picked at the padding on his crutch.

Ashley set her cup down and stared at him. "Oh my god." She whispered, coming over to the couch he was sitting on and wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, baby.

He dropped his crutch and held on to her tightly, burring his head into her shoulder when the tears came.

This was the first time he had let himself show any sort of negative emotion that he felt toward the situation, and he was glad to have this woman's shoulder to cry on.

Heavy sobs wracked through his body and he began trembling.

Ashely rubbed her hand in circles over his back, trying to get him to calm down.

"Shh, Chandler, it's OK." She put one hand on the back of his head and began slowly rocking back and forth as if he was a small child.

After about ten minutes, it was clear that Chandler had fallen asleep, so Ashely carefully maneuvered herself out from underneath him and covered him with a thin blanket that was on the back of the couch.

She picked up the coffee cups and went to dump them in the sink. Once she was done with that, she headed into her bedroom to make a phone call.

"Hello?" A man answered.

"John? It's Ashley."

"Where are you, you're supposed to be here!" John yelled.

"I'm sorry, John. I can't come into the studio today. A...family emergency came up. I'll be in tomorrow. Bye John."

"Ashely! Don't hang-" She pressed the off button and put the phone back in it's cradle before walking back out into the living room and laying down on the other couch.

She glanced over at the remote that was on the table between them and picked it up, turning the TV on but setting the volume low so it wouldn't wake Chandler up.

* * *

_Five hours later....._

It was now six o'clock, and Chandler was still asleep.

Ashley had also fallen asleep, the TV still on, casting a dim glow across the room as the sun began it's final descent below the tall buildings of New York, cutting off most of the light from entering through the giant picture windows that lined the wall.

Chandler woke up and rolled over, unaware that he was on a couch. He rolled right of the edge and landed flat on his back.

His eyes frantically searched the room, his brain trying to place his surroundings.

_Ashely's apartment. _He thought and quickly glanced down at his watch. _6:03, crap. I hope they found the note._

He looked up at the other couch where Ashley continued to sleep peacefully.

The low thud his body had made when he hit the ground was not enough to wake her, which he was very grateful for.

He carefully pulled himself off of the floor and brushed off, placing the blanket over Ashley. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He backed away and stood with his hands clasped together behind him.

"Chandler, it's OK. You can be, you know, normal, around me. I've known you for over two years, relax."

"I'm sorry, I just..." He trailed off and ran his hands through his hair.

"And stop saying you're sorry." She laughed and stood up to stretch. "Hey, I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat."

"Oh, I um-"

"Oh, do you have plans?" She interrupted.

"No, but-" He stopped when she cut him off again.

"Well then let's go." She walked past him and grabbed his elbow, pulling him toward the door with her.

She put on her jacket as he picked up his crutch. He took one questioning glance before she pulled him out of the apartment and shut the door.

* * *

"So, you can't remember _anything_?" Ashley asked over a plate of chicken wings.

Chandler shook his head and pulled at the straw of his diet coke. "They told me about you. By _they_ I mean-"

"I know who _they _are, Chandler. We hung out all the time." She smiled and wiped her hands off.

"Do you just _like _cutting people off mid-sentence?" He joked.

"Sorry." She raised her hands in the air and leaned back. "So, what did they tell you about me?" She asked, resting her elbows on the table.

"Well, they told me that we went out for two years. They said you're a singer and the reason that we broke up was because that we couldn't really find time for each other, but we're still good friends."

"Do they have spies follow us around or something?" She laughed and picked at another wing.

Chandler shook his head and laughed. "So, how's the album coming?"

"Pretty good. I've got just a few days left before it's finished. It comes out sometime in November, I'm not sure of the exact date yet. So, why did you want to talk to me?" She put the wing down and stared at him intently.

"I'm not really sure. Something just told me that I had to get to you, that you needed to know, that you could fill some holes. I don't know what I was expecting from you, but this is nice." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Well, I'm glad you came to me. I'm not sure why, either, but I am." She rested her head on her hand and glanced down at her wrist. "It's getting pretty late. Do you have anywhere to be?"

"What time is it?" He asked, looking down at his own watch.

"9:17."

He shook his head and threw some money on the table.

"Let's go to a movie or something." She jumped up and took his hand, helping him stand up.

"OK." Chandler stood up and leaned back down to grab his crutch. "But I no longer have any more cash, so you have to pay."

She laughed and dragged him out of the small diner.

* * *

They walked hand in hand down the sidewalk, talking about random things and staying away from the subject of Chandler's condition.

"I really wish I could remember some of the things we did together." Chandler sighed and moved his arm up around her shoulders.

"It's not the _things_ that made us special, Chandler. Every minute with you was special, and you wouldn't let it be any other way." She smiled up at him and leaned her head against his shoulder as they passed Central Park. "Oh the park! Let's go for a walk, I don't want to see a movie anymore."

She wrapped her arm around his waist and guided them toward the park.

They walked quietly along a path, no words needed to be said.

"You know, we took a walk along this very path after our first date." She said quietly.

"Really now?" He asked, glancing down at her as she turned her head up at him.

"Yup. And we had our first kiss right on that bench up there." She pointed her arm toward a bench about 15 feet up.

Chandler smiled and guided her over to the bench, slowly taking a seat when they reached it.

He laid his crutch down next to it and turned to face her.

He lifted his hand and gently caressed her cheek through his glove covered hand.

She slowly leaned in and brushed his lips with her own, deepening the kiss when he responded.

It lasted for a few long seconds before Chandler pulled away and looked down at the ground.

"Ash, I'm not sure we should be doing this. I mean, I know you, but then again, I barely do."

"I totally understand."

"You do?" He looked up at her.

"Yea, I know this must be hard for you. I don't want to make you jump into anything, you've been through a lot."

He smiled at her and then wrapped his arms around her. "You're too great."

"I know." She laughed.

"I should probably call Monica and let them know that I'm still alive."

"You can go home if you want, you don't have to stay with me."

"No, I want to. I just don't want them to get all worried and send out a search party."

She laughed and stood up, once again helping him stand.

"You can call from my place if you want."

"Sounds great." They both began to walk back to her apartment, a smile on each of their faces.

* * *

"I'm gonna go make us some more coffee." Ashely pointed toward the kitchen as she hung her jacket up. "I'll be right back."

Chandler shrugged out of his jacket, carefully sliding it over the cast on his wrist, and hung it up next to hers.

He hobbled over to the couches for the second time that day. He heavily sat down and after taking a quick glance around the room, noticed that there was a fireplace.

He got back up and studied it for a moment before getting down on his knees and throwing some logs in. He stuffed some pieces from the pile of newspapers in between the logs and took a match from the box that was on top of it.

He lit the match and held it to as many pieces of paper as he could before it burnt down to his fingers. After flicking the remainder of the stick into the small fire, he stood up, brushed himself off, and sat on the small love seat in front of the fire place.

"OK, I got the coffee." Ashley came out of the kitchen, holding another two cups, one in each hand. "What's with the fire?" She smiled and sat down next to him.

He shrugged and took a cup from her. "I like 'em."

"Me too." They both took a minute to enjoy the sounds of the crackling fire before starting up a conversation. "So, what do you think you're going to do now?" She asked, taking a sip from her cup.

He chewed on his bottom lip and ran a finger around the rim of his cup. "I'm not sure. I haven't really had that much time to think about it yet. I mean, what if I never get my memory back? How do I just go back to living a life that I know nothing about?"

"I guess this is just one of those wait-and-see kind of situations, huh?"

He didn't reply to her question and stared thoughtfully into the fire. "I need some fresh air. I'm gonna go stand outside for a little bit, feel free to join me." He motioned toward the set of double doors the led out onto her balcony and stood up, not bothering to grab his crutch before heading out.

They had spent all night outside, she knew the real reason that he wanted to go out, even though he didn't.

She smiled and set her coffee cup down on the side table and followed him out. She had done this thousands of times with him before and she knew exactly what to expect.

She rested her arms on the balcony's edge and looked over to him, waiting for the words he always said.

"You can't see the stars." He said quietly.

"Yes, you can." She replied, earning a questioning look from him.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"You just have to look hard enough." She glanced over to him before they both looked back up to the sky. "Just because youcan't _see_ them doesn't mean they're not there."

"Just because _I _can't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen." This time it was her turn to throw him a look and he just laughed in response to it. "I know this has happened before. When you followed me out here, I knew exactly what to say, and exactly how to reply." He smiled and took her hand, turning to face her.

"Why has this happened before?" He asked.

"Joey." Ashley whispered, looking out over the city from the eighth floor.

Chandler nodded his head and turned to face the apartment, studying the cast that covered his wrist and part of his hand.

The pained look on his face was too much for any man to carry and she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his right arm around her and gazed down into her eyes.

Time seemed to slow down as he moved his head lower to meet her lips in sweet kiss, quickly building to be more passionate as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he slid his hands up her back.

He slowly started backing inside, moving over toward the fireplace. The apartment was a split level and they both knew that they'd never be able to stay apart long enough to make it up the stairs to her bedroom.

He gently laid her down and hovered over her, using his good arm to balance himself.

"Ashley stopped and firmly put her hands on his chest. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked, not really wanting him to say no.

"Positive." He leaned back down and smiled into their next kiss, both knowing where the night was going to lead them.

* * *

_to be continued....._

* * *

_Wow, am I tired or what? I didn't sleep at all last night, I was at an all night party that was just the best ever. We played giant monopoly, anybody know what that is? You play in teams of five or six people, and when you land on somebody's property, your whole team has to cram into a car and drive to a certain house in the city to pay the rent. We broke at least six laws all at once, but don't turn me in or this story won't get finished. We went midnight bowling, we played sardines, and we played diaper wars, I'll tell ya, running around outside at four in the morning really takes it out of ya! It was awesome though, at around six in the morning, not a couch or a row of chairs was to be spared, everybody was wiped. _

_But anyway, these reviews are really lacking. I got 14 for chapter one, 10 for chapter two, and I forgot how many I got for chapter 3. But I'm already guessing that this chapter isn't going to get many, and after I got all those reviews for the first two chapters, this just makes me want to cry. Are you guys still even reading this? Do you even care anymore? I'm not going to continue writing the story if nobody is reading this, I've got other stuff to do._

_So please, if you're reading this story, take a few seconds to review and let me know you're still out there!_

_-McB_


	5. chapter five

Mason Park - Chapter Five

* * *

They made love twice that night, and after the second time, Chandler fell into what Ashley could only assume was a peaceful sleep.

She carefully crawled out of his arms and over to the phone. She picked it up and dialed a number she had memorized long ago.

It was 10:37 and she figured that they would still be awake, none of them had to get up extremely early anyways. Her call was answered after three rings.

"Hello?" A male voice asked.

"Ross? I thought I dialed Monica's number. It's Ashley."

"Ashley? Wow, I haven't spoken to you in a while. This _is_ Monica's apartment, we've just been hanging out here and I was just about to head back to my place. What's up?"

"Oh, well I just wanted to let you know that Chandler is over here. I don't think he'll be home tonight, he's OK and everything, but he fell asleep and I don't want to wake him up." Ashley explained, glancing back down at Chandler as a smile spread across her face.

"OK. Well, I guess I'll talk to you later then. Thanks for calling us, we were starting to get worried." Ross laughed awkwardly and glanced around the room at Monica, Phoebe, and Rachel.

"No problem. I'll see you around. Bye." She hit the off button and threw the phone down on the couch before crawling back across the floor to where Chandler lay. She pulled another blanket off of the couch, threw some more wood into the fire, and curled up next to him. His arms instinctively wrapped around her and she buried her face in his chest, falling into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

_Chandler walked into his apartment after a long day at work to find a small circle table in the middle of the room, two candles and two plates of food sitting on top of it._

_He moved further in and shut the door behind him before setting his briefcase on the counter and removing his tie._

_A smile crossed his lips as he called to his girlfriend of one year. "Ashley?" He moved past the counter and glanced over into the open bathroom._

_She walked out of his bedroom dressed in a deep navy blue dress, her hair put up into a tight bun and the earrings he had given to her last week dangling from her ears. "What's all this?" He asked, motioning toward the table._

_"It's our anniversary, silly, you didn't forget, did you?" She smiled as she walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a passionate kiss._

_His arms snaked around her waist, his hands running up and down her back. He pulled away and looked into her strikingly blue eyes. "Hey, lets skip dinner." He kissed her again and started to guide them toward his bedroom._

_"Oh, no. We'll get to that. We have to eat because I spent all day preparing this and I haven't even had a snack. I'm starving."_

_He laughed and moved back over to take a seat across from her at the table. "So, what are we eating?" He asked, rubbing his hands together and looking over the table._

Chandler woke up the next morning with another pounding headache and rolled onto his back. His movement woke Ashley and she sat up to look at him, concern lining her face. "Chandler? What's wrong?" She scooted closer to him and rubbed her hand up his bare chest.

He gave her a confused look before the events of yesterday came back to him. He shook his head and closed his eyes again. "Nothing, I just have a headache.'' He was about to get up to find the bottle of pills but remembered that he hadn't brought them with him, he hadn't expected to be out all night.

"Do you want some aspirin or something?" Ashley wrapped the blanket around her, standing up.

Chandler nodded his head with his hand still over his forehead. He had never gotten back to the doctor's office yesterday, something that he now regretted very much.

He sat up and put his elbows on his knees just as Ashley came back from the kitchen holding a glass of water and two pills.

He took them gratefully and downed the glass of water before handing it back to Ashley. She went to put the glass in the sink as he searched for his clothes. He slipped his boxers and pants on, but his shirt was missing.

"Hey Ash?" Chandler called, still searching around the room for the lost item of clothing.

"Yea?" She asked, once again coming out of the kitchen.

He stopped his search and looked up at her, noticing how beautiful she looked wrapped in nothing but a blanket.

"Chandler?"

He shook his head and looked at the ground, his cheeks reddening. "Um, do you know where my shirt is?"

Ashley took a quick glance around the room, her eyes landing on the sleeve of a red shirt sticking out of the fireplace. She covered her mouth with her hand and stifled a laugh. Chandler was caught off guard by her reaction to the question and looked up at her. He looked down in the direction she was staring and noticed the sleeve of his shirt.

"Oh, that's just great." He walked over and picked it up, studying the charred edge with hate. "What do I do now?" He threw the tattered cloth back into the fireplace and threw his hands in the air.

"I have an old shirt of yours that you could wear. I'll go get it." She ran off to her room and he decided to gather her clothes for her.

Once she came back out, they traded the items they each held and she ran back to her room as he threw the shirt over his head.

He looked down at his watch and noticed that it was already 8AM. "Hey, Ashley?" He knocked on her bedroom door and waited for her reply.

"Yea?" She called through the wood.

"I think I'm just going to head home. I'd stay for breakfast, but they're probably waiting for me. I'd stay if I had time. I'll give you a call later, OK?" He finished, hoping that she wouldn't be too disappointed with him for leaving.

"That's fine. She opened her bedroom door and walked him to the front door. "Hey, I had a great time last night. We need to get together and talk about this though."

He nodded his head before grabbing his jacket and crutch. He bent down to give her a sweat kiss on the lips and left.

* * *

He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and turned his head toward the sky before exhaling.

_Quite a situation you've gotten yourself into, isn't it?_

The voice came from no one, he was alone. The path that ran through the park was empty, there was nobody on the bench next to him, and it couldn't have come from the bushes.

"What?" He asked, looking over both of his shoulders with wide eyes.

_The situation, with Ashley, with everybody. You don't love her, but you know she's madly in love with you. Hell, if she had her way, she never would have left you._

Again, his eyes frantically searched around him, there was nobody there. "Who are you? _Where _are you?"

_Perhaps you could ask yourself those very same questions._

Chandler looked to the ground with wide eyes, staring at nothing in particular, he shut his eyes tightly and drew in another deep breath. "_What_?"

_Oh for god sakes man, it's not that hard. _

"Who are you?"

_Well, nobody, really. I'm just here to help you think, ya know, like in the movies._

He sighed and shook his head, his fingers massaging his temples. "I don't need this. I can think on my own. Leave me alone!"

_Yea, just keep telling yourself that. What are you going to do? You can't just leave the girl, you slept with her. But you can't stay with her, you don't know her, it would be too awkward._

"I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, yet."

_You've been walking around for the past few hours and you've come up with nothing. You're hopeless._

"Well, you're not much better."

_Oh of course I am. I don't have lost memories that resurface at the drop of a hat. I don't have four friends worried about me, and I don't have one that hates me for something that I can't even remember if it's true or not. I don't have to live with the sorrow of a lost life that was so much better than what you're now stuck with. You've lost so much, I've lost nothing._

"No, I haven't lost anything. I just can't remember it."

_So you didn't lose your child, you didn't lose your wife, you didn't lose your best friend?_

"It's going to be OK, just wait."

_What if it's not?_

Chandler looked up at a passing airplane and released and evil laugh. "I ask myself that very same question every hour of the day."

_You're tired, Chandler. You're weak. You just want all of this to go away, you don't want to deal with it. You want to go to sleep and wake up in Monica's bed with her safely in your arms. It's not going to happen. Sorry._

"Well what am I supposed to do? How do I start do deal with this? What do I have to do first?"

_You have to figure that out for yourself. I can't tell you what to do, I don't know what's best for you. You can do whatever you want to do, you can run away, you can stay and try to deal with this, you can act like nothing happened, the possibilities are endless. But I leave you with advice, opportunities will present themselves, recognize them, use them._

The cold wind swirled around the bench and Chandler reached in his pocket for his mittens.

He hurriedly put them on and stood to grab his crutch and head home.

* * *

The door opened without needing a key to be inserted in the lock and he spun around to shut it.

He threw his mittens on the counter and rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them up.

"Chandler? Where the hell have you been?" Monica shot out of her chair and Chandler jumped a clear foot backward, slamming back against the door.

"Christ, Monica! You scared the shit out of me!" He roughly shook his jacket off and threw it on top of his gloves before hobbling over to his room to change into a new pair of clothes.

"Where were you? You were supposed to be home hours ago!" She followed him to his room, stopping abruptly when he slammed the door in her face.

"I was out...thinking." His voice was muffled by the door and the shirt he was pulling over his head.

"Well you should have called! We were worried sick about you!"

His door was thrown open and he calmly walked out. "You guys shouldn't worry so much. I don't understand why you do. I'm fine, I can take care of myself, I'm a grown man." He walked to the fridge to grab something to eat, trying to hide his anger with himself.

"Well...you know...we've been through a lot too." Monica's look softened a little with sympathy and she ran her foot over the smooth floor.

"Oh, you have?" He slammed the fridge door and turned to face her. "Monica, you have _no_ idea what I've been through! You have _no _idea what this is like for me! What _living_ is like! Just, leave me alone." He stared to the ground when he brushed past her and walked straight back to his room.

Monica wiped the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. He never used to yell. Before a few days ago, she had never even heard him raise his voice in any sort of anger. She shook her head sadly and took one last look over toward his room before leaving the apartment for her own.

* * *

to be continued.....

* * *

_Wow, thank you SO much for all the reviews! I was so happy when I checked my email and found all of them just waiting to be read! I didn't intend to come off sounding mean last time, I'm just desperate and greedy for reviews ; ) I'm running out of material to post so I'll probably be slowing down with the updates, but I will get this finished before I start anything else! I'm determined! Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual, this also relates to the lack of material. Again, thanks for the reviews, and keep 'em comin! Oh, and sorry about that scene with Chandler in the park, it was stupid and corny, but I needed something there._

_Quote of the moment - "Everybody has an opinion, and that's what separates us all."_


	6. chapter six

Mason Park - Chapter Six

* * *

_the next morning....._

Chandler rubbed the sleep from his eyes on the way out of his room. A blinking light on the answering machine caught his eye and he pressed the "messages" button as he headed to the fridge.

"You have one new message." The automated voice said.

"Hey Chandler, it's Ashley. Um, I wanted to talk to you about something pretty important. Don't worry, it's not what you think it is, I don't even think that's possible. Could you meet me at Mason Park at 2:00? You should know where it is, if not, just call my cell, I'm sure you have the number somewhere."

The message was followed by a high pitched beep and the machine shut off.

He couldn't remember being there, but he knew exactly where it was. His eyes darted to the clock on the microwave, 10:39. He had plenty of time. He could eat, shower, and stop by Monica's restaurant to apologize for last night, and still have time to spare.

* * *

Chandler pulled his jacket around him tighter and shoved his hands in his pockets. He had had a quick sandwich, showered, changed into a pair of jeans and a stripped button up shirt, and left an "I'm sorry" message on Monica's machine instead of interrupting her at work, all in an hour.

It was now just after quarter to two and he was on his way down the street, attempting to catch a taxi.

It wasn't an actual park, it was a small coffee shop with a very modern interior. Small square tables made of a heavy oak, surrounded by simple chairs that matched, covered the floor.

Pictures of random things from all walks of life covered the walls, and behind the counter were racks and racks of bagels, coffees, and other suck snacks. Large bay like windows made up the front of the shop, starting from three feet off the ground to the ceiling, they opened up to a view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was usually decently busy, it was also where Chandler and Ashley had gone on their first date after their initial plans had gone to hell.

He couldn't remember the date, but he knew the place something to Ashely.

He arrived at the small building, barely noticeable between the fancy, overpriced restaurant and a bookstore. The only thing that helped it stand out was that it was on a corner.

He rushed through the doors, away from the cold winter wind, and shook the snow off of his jacket. Ashley was nowhere in sight so he grabbed a table by the front windows and ordered a cup of coffee for each of them.

Just as the drinks were served, Ashley came through the door and immediately spotted him. He stood to give her a quick hug when she reached the table and helped her take her jacket off.

"Hey Ashley, I ordered you some coffee." He smiled and returned to his chair.

"Oh, thanks. Hey, you got rid of your crutch!"

"Yea, it wasn't helping me much, if anything, it was actually more painful." They both laughed uneasily and sipped their coffee.

"So, um, what did you want to talk to me about?" Chandler asked, looking down at his hands and playing with his fingers.

"Oh, yea. I wanted to tell you that--that I'm moving." Ashley stuttered, refusing to meet Chandler's gaze when he looked up at her.

"You're moving? Where? When?" He pressed his palms flat against the table and tried to sound calm. She was the key to his past. She could help, she was there for so much of it, she couldn't leave now.

"Yea, I'm moving. To California. In three days. I'm still keeping the apartment I have here though, in case I want to come back and visit from time to time. It'll be expensive but with all the hype this album is getting, my manager thinks I'll be just fine, money wise anyway." She stopped and looked back at Chandler, who now was leaning back in his chair with a puzzled look on his face.

"But why? What's in California?"

"Well, my manager said it would be better for my career. You know, I've worked with people here, now I need to work the other coast, it would give me a more broad range of people to possibly work with in the future that I could rely on. I'm not staying there forever. I'm thinking a year, maybe a little less, little more, I really don't know yet."

Chandler nodded and frustratingly whipped the tears that threatened to fall.

_How can I cry over something like this? I've known her for less than 48 hours. _

"I'm sorry, Chandler. I've been planning on moving for a few weeks now, but I never told you. And then you came to me with this _new_ problem and--"

"New? Are you telling me there were _old _problems, _other_ problems?" His frustration was growing, he couldn't handle all of this.

_Why can't just one thing stay the same?_

"Chandler, now is really not the time. I've got a meeting to get to and I just _can't _be late. Why don't you come over to my place tonight, 7:00? I'll make dinner and we can talk then." She got up, put her coat back on, and bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek before walking out the door.

Chandler angrily stood, hastily throwing his own coat on and throwing a few bills down on the table. He shoved the doors open and stood on the sidewalk for a few seconds, just watching all of the passing cars and people.

_Whoever it was that said "life isn't fair" wasn't kidding._

He laughed bitterly and began the hunt for another taxi.

* * *

to be continued.....

* * *

_OK, I got a decent amount of reviews, I'll live. I wasn't planning on updating this week, and that's why the chapter is so short. I think I've only got one more chapter that's ready to be posted, and I just can't afford to give it away yet. I might be skipping next weeks update, unless I get a lot of encouragement to write. My teachers have just been swamping us with homework this year, I don't understand why, is this universal? Oh well, mid-term is Wednesday (it's going so fast!), so I'm almost done with most of them._

_Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed, and I'll be looking forward to more! Thanks!_

_ -Jabes-_


	7. chapter seven

Mason Park - Chapter Seven

* * *

"Chandler?" Rachel knocked on his apartment door a few times before calling him again. "Chandler?" She said a little louder. When she got no response for the second time, she let herself in. 

"Chandler?" She yelled, glancing toward the open bathroom door and around the living room. His coat was lying just outside of his slightly open bedroom door and she walked over to pick it up. She folded it over her arm and pushed his door open quietly.

He was lying sideways across his bed, fully clothed, the sheets twisted around him. His t-shirt and hair were soaked with sweat and his jeans were wrinkled.

Rachel set his jacket down on a chair next to the door and walked over to his bed, sitting down next to him. "Chandler." She placed her hand on his damp shoulder and shook him gently. "Chandler, wake up."

He began to toss and turn, his arms unconsciously pulling the sheets tighter around him. His hand reached out and gently found it's way around Rachel's waist, pulling her down to him. Rachel laughed and struggled to free herself. "Chandler, come on, get up."

His tossing became more aggressive when she pulled away from him and she began to worry. "Chandler." She yelled, shaking his shoulder harder. She began to panic and ran out of the room, heading over to Monica's apartment.

She burst through the door and found Monica and Ross sitting at the kitchen table eating soup. "You guys. I can't wake Chandler up!" She yelled.

Monica put her spoon down and whipped her mouth with her napkin. "What?"

"Come on!" Rachel grabbed Ross and Monica's hands and dragged them over to Chandler's room.

"He won't wake up!" She shoved them in the room and looked worriedly down at Chandler who's breathing was now becoming labored.

"Ross, get some water." Monica ordered, immediately taking over the situation. Ross ran out of the room and to the kitchen, quickly filling a glass with water.

"Here." He handed the glass to Monica and she didn't even think twice about getting Chandler's bed all wet before splashing the entire glass of water on his face.

He shot out of bed, water dripping off of his face and onto his carpet. "What the hell?!" He yelled, not quite sure what had just happened. He spotted the glass in Monica's hand and looked at her like she was crazy. "What is the matter with you?" He screamed, his arms flailing around in a comical fashion.

"Well, you wouldn't wake up. What did you want me to do?" Monica laughed at Chandler's frenzied state and set the glass down on his nightstand.

Chandler whipped the water from his face with his shirt and upon noticing it was already soaking wet, took it off and threw it to a corner of the room.

"Hey, you put it in your hamper, not on your floor." Monica scolded, waving a hand toward his discarded shirt.

"Go ahead." Chandler smiled. "Now, if it's not too much trouble, might I ask what you are all doing in my room?"

"Well, I came over here to see if you wanted to go to a movie or something tonight. You wouldn't wake up. I went and got Monica and Ross. Monica threw water at you." Rachel summed it up and put her hands behind her back proudly.

"Okay, well, I can't do anything tonight, I'm going over to Ashley's again, but thanks anyway. Now can I get dressed?" He asked, motioning to his bare chest.

"I'm all for it, man." Ross pated Chandler on the back as he walked out of his room, followed closely by Rachel and Monica.

* * *

It was a short walk from his apartment to Ashley's, but the cold wind made it unbearable. He was three quarters of the way there and had been walking for ten minutes already. 

His hands were buried deep inside each of their respective coat pockets and he had a scarf wrapped tight around his neck, nothing was enough to hide from the harsh cold.

In an odd way, it was just like life. No matter how far away he got or how hard he tried to bury himself, there would always be somebody there to "help" him along the way, nobody would let him do anything for himself.

He finally reached Ashley's building and stabbed her intercom button with his finger. A few seconds later, she answered.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hey. It's me. It's very cold." Chandler laughed and started bouncing up and down. He didn't know why, but he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach that always got him excited when he was around her.

Ashley laughed and buzzed him in. A quick 30 seconds later and he was knocking on her door.

She opened the door with a smile on her face and he greeted her with a quick kiss on the lips. She rubbed her hand on his cheek but gasped and stepped backward when she felt how cold it was. "Chandler, you're freezing!" She grabbed the front of his coat and pulled him inside.

"No shit." Chandler laughed and rubbed his arms with his hands.

"Don't swear. Now sit down, I'll be right back with a blanket and some coffee." She shoved him down on the couch and ran to a nearby closet.

After digging around for a few minutes, she produced a blanket and thew it at him before walking into the kitchen. Chandler roughly caught the blanket and set it next to him on the couch.

She came back out of the kitchen with a coffee cup in each hand, one of which she handed to Chandler before taking a seat on a chair across from him. He took a few sips of coffee and cleared his throat, leering down into the cup in his hands.

"So, I guess we should talk about this." Ashley set her cup down and leaned forward on her elbows.

"What?" Chandler asked, looking up at her quickly.

"Chandler.."

"I know, I know. I just--it's not fair!"

"Life isn't--"

"I know, you don't have to tell me. I get it. Why can't you just wait a while?" He asked, also leaning forward to match her pose.

"I can't Chandler, I've already got this whole thing planned out. I've got an apartment waiting that's completely furnished, I've got friends out there, and I've got lots of people waiting."

Chandler sat back and picked at the buttons on his coat. A thought suddenly struck him and a smile crossed his face. _This is too perfect._

"I wanna come with you!" He said, enthusiasm dripping from his voice.

"What? Chandler do you really think that's a good idea?" Ashley said, shaking her head and knitting her brow in concern.

"Yea! It's perfect!" Chandler jumped off of the couch, his arms flailing around. "I've been thinking about getting out of here for a while anyway but I didn't know where to go, and I didn't want to go some place where I didn't know anybody. But I'd know you!" Chandler started to bounce up and down and moved around the room.

"What about your friends. You can't just leave them." Ashley stood up and walked over to him.

"Well they don't mean much to me when I can't remember anything that they've done for the past four years anyway. I don't want to just ditch them all together, but I can't be around them everyday and listen to them talk about things that I have no clue about. I just want to get away long enough for me to get most of my memory back."

"Well, I guess you could come. But it's not really giving them much warning. I mean, I'm leaving on Thursday. That's two days, Chandler. And you don't have anything packed or a plane ticket."

"I can get a ticket within a matter of minutes and I don't have much to pack anyway. Don't worry. This is going to be so awesome!" Chandler started jumping up and down again and Ashley put her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't get too carried away there, buddy." She smiled and patted his back. A sharp ding came from the kitchen and Ashley turned toward it. "Dinner's done!" Both her and Chandler raced to the kitchen, pushing each other out of the way as they got closer to the door.

* * *

Chandler walked into his apartment and threw his keys on the table with a smile on his face that had been there since he left Ashley's. 

He hung his coat and turned to head back out the door.

Everybody was over at Monica's and he figured now was as good a time as any to tell them the news.

He pushed the door open and with every step he took inside, his smile got a little smaller. He knew they were going to disapprove of his decision, not matter what excuse he came up with for it. They would be concerned, they would be mad, sad, confused...but they would get over it.

They were all sitting around the coffee table, including Tom and Mike, so engrossed in a board game that they hadn't noticed his arrival yet.

He cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back, nervously rubbing them together.

They all stopped and turned their heads toward him, finally acknowledging his presence. "Oh, hey Chandler. What's up?" Phoebe was the first to greet him, but quickly focused her attention back on the board and rolled the dice.

"Chandler! Man, it's great to see that you're okay. I'm so sorry I couldn't get here any sooner, you know how parents are." Mike laughed and stood to give him a 'manly' hug.

"Yea, it's great to _be _okay." Chandler smiled and took a seat next to Rachel on the couch, instantly sinking back into it and trying to hide. Rachel noticed this and turned toward him.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Um, well, actually, I have some news." He stood back up and rubbed his hands together again.

"Is this _good _news or _bad_ news?" Monica asked nervously, setting her cards down on the table.

"Well, it depends what you think of it."

"Well, what _is_ it?" Ross asked.

Chandler took a deep breath and spread his arms wide. "I'm moving." His smile instantly reappeared just at the thought of the thrill that his journey would bring him.

Everybody glanced at each other before looking back to him. "What do you mean you're moving? Like, to a new apartment or what?" Rachel asked.

"I'm moving to Los Angeles, with Ashley." Chandler continued to smile and buried his hands in his pockets.

Phoebe laughed uneasily. "Are you kidding? You can't move to California, especially with a woman that you barely know."

"Well, you see, that's just the thing. I barely know any of you guys anymore, but Ashley's different. I-I can't explain it."

"Well you better try! You can't just move, Chandler!" Ross yelled, standing up and throwing his cards down.

"What good do you think this is going to do?!" Monica screamed, also standing up beside Ross. The brother and sister pair set off everybody else, yelling all sorts of things at him. This is just what he had expected, they wouldn't like it.

_Of course they wouldn't, why would they?_

Chandler involuntarily stepped back and put his hands out in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Quit yelling! Everybody, just stop! This is _my_ decision and I'll go if I want to. I don't have to give you a reason! It's not like I'm trying to get away from you guys, but I just need some change. I need some time away! You guys have no idea what this is like for me, you never will! My life was _perfect _before that damn accident, which I can't even remember, and now it's all..._this_!" He waved his arms in front of him to emphasize his point.

"This is all so twisted, I have no idea what's going on! I can't remember one fucking thing from the past god knows how long, and it's just too hard to be around you guys everyday! I need to get away, I need time to get my memory back, and if you guys can't support me in this, then you can't support me in anything else." Chandler finished quietly and stormed out of the apartment and out of the building.

_okay, that wasn't so bad. It could have been worse, they could have beaten me with a lead pipe. They'll get over it, they'll calm down, they'll understand. And if they don't? Screw 'em. No, okay, I didn't mean that. Just, shut up, Chandler, stop talking._

Chandler walked for two hours that night, randomly visiting all of his and Monica's favorites spots and remembering, for the very last time.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

_Okay, this chapter is longer than what I have left to update. So that means it's probably gonna be a while before I can update again, unless a get a major amount of reviews. My goal is to get 100 by the time I'm done with this story. But that's all on you guys. I really shouldn't have made this chapter so long, but I felt bad for making you guys wait so long. So that means that you owe me reviews! _

_Wanna hear something sad? Two people that I know have died in the past month. My great aunt and a senior from my high school, I've had enough of this death crap. _

_Well, I must go, please review!!!!_


	8. chapter eight

Mason Park - Chapter Eight

* * *

__

_AN: I changed the story to first person and present tense because it's easier to write that way and I can get this going faster with it like that._

* * *

By the time I get back to the apartment it's almost midnight, and I certainly wasn't expecting to find Monica sitting in one of the barca loungers, waiting for me to come home.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her, throwing my jacket, mittens, and knit hat down on the counter.

"I wanted to apologize, for all of us." She says and slowly lifts herself out of the chair. "I know this has to be incredibly hard for you, and I will never know what you're going through. We had no right to yell at you like that, this is your choice, you're a grown man, you can do whatever you want. I'm sorry." Her shoulders are slumped and her voice gives away little emotion, reminding me much of my grandmother after my grandpa died.

I sigh and move toward her and take her hands in my own. "You don't have to apologize for them, they've got their own opinions. You make it sound like I don't care about you guys and I'm just trying to get away. That is _totally_ not the case. It's just so hard to be around you guys and I think it'd be better for everybody if I _did _get away for a while. I need some room to breathe and New York just isn't doing it for me." I drop her hands and rub her arms. "I would never want to get rid of you guys. You're my family, and I'm stuck with ya."

Monica laughs and closes her eyes as she wraps her arms around me, immediately triggering the memory of all the times we had held each other. _Or was it just a dream? _

I rest my chin on the top of her head and pull her tight to me, not failing to notice how she fits right into my arms exactly the same way.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." She squeaks and buries her face in my chest when the tears come. I hold back my own and opt for being the shoulder to cry on, rubbing my hand in circles over her back and not bothering with saying 'it's going to be ok' when I have no idea myself.

I don't say anything at all, I just hold her and let her cry, because I don't know what to do.

* * *

__

_the next morning..._

I wake up early and slowly open my eyes, only to shut them again and roll away from the blinding light seeping in through my useless blinds. I have lots to do today, I have to see the doctor about my headaches, which I haven't gotten one of in a while

I have to go to the post office and give them my new address, I have to stop by my office and ask for a transfer. If they don't give me one, I'm just gonna quit and get the whole package deal, new city, new life, new job. And I have to talk to Treeger and give him my..one day...notice.

Tomorrow's the day, tomorrow's the day I leave, I'm not moving...I'm leaving.

Guilt courses through my head for reasons I can't begin to figure out and I launch myself out of bed, quickly throwing on a pair of jeans that haven't been washed in god knows how long and a plain, rather tight, and faded, red t-shirt.

As I look around the room for my socks and shoes, I notice that tomorrow is the day that I leave, and today I have nothing packed.

I calmly walk over to the closet and open the doors. The floor is piled with clothes, there's a few things dangling on hangers from the warped wooden bar, and the shelf is occupied by about ten empty boxes covered with dust. My mind immediately goes to Monica, at first sight of my unkempt closet, she would freak, but then she would see this as the most precious gift, should I leave this for her?

I decide against it and grab one of the boxes, disregarding the fact that my hands turn a nasty gray when the dust covers them. I wipe my hands on my jeans and begin taking things off of my walls, off the top of my dresser, night stand, shelves, anything that holds items small enough to be placed in the box is cleared off.

* * *

An hour and a half later, my room is spotless. There's nothing but nails in the walls, nothing but dust in the closet, and nothing but...nothing..in the dresser. Mission Accomplished.

I slap my hands together to get the dust off, only to watch it fall on the clothes that I just spent half an hour folding neatly so Monica wouldn't spaz if she saw them.

I shake my head at my stupidity and walk out of my room, grab my keys, throw on my jacket, stuff the mittens and hat in my pockets, and don't bother writing a note. Monica said it last night, I'm a grown man, they can worry if they want to.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

__

_Sorry for the super short chapter but I wanted to give you guys something since it's been so incredibly long and I didn't want to give away everything that I started re-writing. I really wanted to update yesterday and have it be a one year anniversary thing (I have officially been a member and posting stories for a year and one day!), but my brother was on the computer the whole day and then I went to my friends house for a Halloween party and didn't get home until too late to be out on a Sunday night with school the next day. _

_So I hope this chapter is enough for you guys so you won't maul me for more. I haven't had much time to write, but I'll try to do it more and hopefully I'll have an update up within two weeks! Remember, reviews always help to motivate me! Please review!_

_BTW - Does anybody own an ipod?_


	9. chapter nine

Mason Park - Chapter Nine

* * *

__

_AN: Chandler never quit his job in season 9, Doug is still his boss._

* * *

The waiting room of the doctor's office is unusually busy for a Monday afternoon. I'm stuffed between a young woman trying to calm her screaming baby and an old lady that keeps taping her cane against me knee. I gave her a questioning look, wondering if she wanted something from me, but she just scowled back and mumbled something about wasted youth.

A nurse steps out of the door and studies the clip board in her hand. Everybody in the room immediately focuses on her, wanting to get out of this hell like zoo.

She clears her throat and continues to look at her board, I'm beginning to wonder if she can read at all. "Chandler Bing, the doctor will see you now." I eagerly jump from my chair and as I walk past her into the hallway, she stifles a laugh, obviously taking notice of my ridiculous name.

"Follow me." She announces and we head down an oddly long hallway with a large, floor to ceiling window at the end. We pass door after door and I wonder how many of these rooms are actually used for patients.

Finally we stop walking at the very end of the hallway, right next to the window. We're on the nineteenth floor of the building and the view of the city is amazing.

I silently step into the room when she tells me that the doctor will be with me in a minute. What's the point of sitting in one room waiting for the doctor, then being taken to another room to wait for the doctor? Why don't they just come and get you when the doctor actually _is _ready?

There's a short knock on the door and before I have anytime to say anything, it opens and the doctor steps in with a clipboard held about three inches from his face.

"Doctor Schip, it's good to see you again." I stick out my hand and he quickly looks up to shake it before looking back down at whatever he was reading. For the first time, I realize that he's really short, I guess I've never stood next to him before, I was always in that bed. I'd say he's about a foot shorter than me and rather stocky. He has short black hair and his skin is remarkably tan for January. If he was taller, he'd almost look like he could be Joey's brother. I've never really taken in his appearance. I guess that's pretty understandable, what with the whole life swap and everything, I guess the physical complexion of a man doesn't really stick out in a situation like that.

"So, what can I do you for?" He asks me and carelessly throws the board down on the table.

"Well, whenever I..remember..something, I get these really bad, unbelievably painful headaches.

"Ah, those are not uncommon. There's not much _I _can do about them, I can prescribe some stronger painkillers, but that's about it. You, on the other hand, can do a number of things. Some people have said that meditating on a daily basis helps, you know, it relaxes the mind and lets the memory come back smoother. But the most effective thing that I've heard of is running."

"Running?"

"Yes, you know what running is, just really fast walking. A little exercise isn't going to hurt you, Chandler." He smiles and leans back against the table.

"Well, I see we already know each other well enough to make fun of me." I laugh sarcastically and lean back against the examination table. "Anyway...What do you mean by running? Like on a regular basis, whenever I get a headache, what?"

"Both would be best. It'd help your health and your head." He turns around and starts writing out a prescription form, I guess our little visit is coming to a close.

I don't say anything else as he finishes writing out the prescription (a rarity for me, I'm usually filled with things to say). He tears the piece of paper from the pad and hands it to me. I take the paper and shove it in my pocket before sticking my hand out for him to shake once again.

"I forgot to tell you, I'm moving to Los Angeles tomorrow. So seeing as this will probably be the last time I'll see you...thanks, for everything." _You are **not** getting emotional over this, you've known the guy a few days!_

"Well, I hope everything goes well for you. I hope you get your memory back, I hope you find something better on the west coast." _Wow, he hopes a lot, but nothing could be better than the life I **thought** I had. _

He releases my hand, and I nod my head and proceed to the door.

Office building, here I come.

* * *

I reach my office not 15 minutes later, and on the way upstairs, not one person acknowledges me, _gee, it feels great to be back._ I stop outside of my door but decide to head straight to Doug's office first.

I knock three times and wait for the reply of 'come in' to open the door. As predicted, he's got his putter centered between his feet, lining up a shot on his cheap putting green that he got from _his_ boss last year at the Christmas party.

"Bing! Great to see you boy! You coming back to work soon?" He shouts at me and I involuntarily step toward the door.

"Um, no, I'm not. I actually wanted to see about a transfer..to Los Angeles." I quickly spit out and shove my hands in my pockets.

"A transfer? Why?" _Wow, some people are just too dumb. What other reason would there be for a transfer outside of 'I'm moving'?_

"Well, sir, I'm moving to California tomorrow. I know this is really short notice, but I didn't get much of one myself."

"I don't know about anything myself, but I'll check with some people and see if we have anything for you. I gotta say, I'm gonna miss you. You've been a great team member and I hate to see you go, but you gotta do what you gotta do." He slings his putter under his left arm like some sort of army lieutenant and sticks his hand out for me to shake.

"Thanks, I've had a great time working here." _Amazing how easily the lies come when you just want to get away from an awkward situation._ I shake his hand and head for my office.

* * *

Walking home from the office with a giant box of stuff from my desk was anything less than fun, especially trying to walk down a New York sidewalk jam packed with angry New Yorkers pushing their way home and slamming you into a wall at every possible chance. It's amazing I survived, I should be awarded for this.

I finally reach my door and slam the box on the floor. Why did I keep this? Was there some reason that I didn't just throw it in a dumpster and have a nice casual walk home? All I really want from this is the picture of the _six _of us, Joey present, at Central Perk. What a waste of time.

I shake my head and retrieve the keys from my pocket to unlock the door. Since when did I _start_ locking it?

Well, apparently never, because the door opens without any effort from the key, smart thinking, Chandler.

The box receives a swift kick from my foot and goes sailing into the apartment. Gee, I could have just done that all the way home, but with my luck I would have missed the box and kicked some body builder in the shin, that would have made a great story, 'How I Got Paralyzed from the Neck Down'.

I shuffle myself inside and effortlessly kick the door shut before heading to my room. I'm wiped, I must have sleep, the other things can wait...since when did I start getting so easily exhausted?

* * *

__

_I__ had walked around New York for hours, thinking about what had just happened. Why didn't I just give her some of my clothes to wear while hers dried? How stupid of a mistake was that?_

_I walk into the apartment and find Joey placing random things of his in a box and frustratingly wiping tears from his eyes. My heart leaps into my throat and every thought in my mind comes to a halt. _

_"Joey, what are you doing?" I ask shakily and he jumps back, he must have not noticed me come in._

_"I'm packing." He replies quickly and goes back to the task at hand._

_"What for?" I didn't want to ask it, but it just came out. I already know why he's packing, and I know it's not just to clear some space._

_"I'm leaving. I can't stay here, I can't be around you."_

_"Joe, nothing--"_

_"I don't want to hear it, Chandler!" He throws a handful of Cd's into his box and steps toward me._

_"But Joey, you gotta believe me!"_

_"No, I don't have to do anything for you! You are my **best friend**, and you slept with my **girl friend**!"_

_"No I didn't! I swear on my life that I did not sleep with her! What's it gonna take for you to believe me?!"_

_"Time!" He screams and stares at me for the longest seconds of my life before turning back to his box, picking it up, and storming into his room._

_I've got no fight left in me, I'm an empty soul. Why can't I fight this battle? I know I'm innocent, he has no proof that I did anything, I could win so easily, so why am I just giving up? I collapse to the floor in an angry fit of tears and sobs. He's gonna leave this time, there's nothing I can do to stop him. Nobody's coming to my rescue, I'm the last soldier._

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

__

_That was a lot of short, random, scenes._

_Five reviews is just sad, and now I am too. I was hoping that I'd get more feedback on if you guys like this story better after the changes. Sigh_

_I have no idea how much longer this story is going to be, it depends on how many more reviews I get and how much will I have to go on. I still know how I want to end it, but I don't know how I'm going to get there. I'll get this figured out someday, all in good time. I probably won't finish this before Christmas, but who knows? I really want that holiday to get here faster, I want an ipod so badly. I'm tired of wasting money on Cd's and having them take up so much space._

_I also want it to snow, I must go snowboarding!_

_Anyway...I have about 3/4 of the next chapter written and it should be up next week. Please review!!!!! _


	10. chapter ten

Mason Park - Chapter Ten

* * *

I shoot up in bed and squeeze my eyes tighter than they've ever been shut, trying to numb the shooting pains in my head. I'm out of pills, I never went and got the new perscription, damn my lazy self.

_Running_, now's the time to try it.

I carefully slide out of bed and slip on a pair of sweat pants, a hoody, and a hat, it's January and I've only got one layer of clothing on...I'll be fine. I slip on my tennis shoes and head out the door, who needs keys, I don't use them for anything anyway.

I jog down the stairs and out of the building, where better to run than Central Park?

It's quicker getting to the park than I thought, maybe because I've never ran to it before?

For five o'clock in the afternoon, it's not that crowded. Usually people come out to jog after work or go for a stroll with their family after dinner.

I'd say there's only about ten other people that I can see, all of which are jogging, just like me. Does that mean I finally blend in now?

My headache's already going away, but the deep pain is still there. I increase my speed and take quick, short breaths. Am I doing this right? I've got no idea, I've never jogged in my life...other than that time that Monica helped me lose some weight, man that was hell.

Sweat is already dripping down my forehead and my legs are starting to burn, my god am I out of shape. I should do this more often, well, seeing how my future is, that shouldn't be too hard of a task to acomplish. I hope these memories come back quickly and I can get this whole amnesia thing over with. It's like going to sleep in your bed and waking up on the couch out in the living room, you have no idea how you got there, but you're there.

This jog would be so much more peaceful if it didn't make me think so much. Maybe I should try jogging _in_ the city? Yea, that would be great, I'd trip on somebody's shoe and then I could just _slide_ down fifth avenue.

My mind wanders to tomorrow and I begin to think how everybody's really going to take this. Will they go to the airport with Ashley and I? Will they even say good-bye? I haven't talked to any of them, except Monica, since last night. They didn't leave me a message, they didn't stop by, they didn't leave a note, is that just how they express their feelings? Maybe they don't like Ashley?

No, that can't be it. Everybody loves Ashley, she's perfect. Her long golden hair that just reaches past her shoulders, her strickingly blue eyes, her slender body with more curves than a road through upstate New York, her I-don't-give-a-damn t-shirt and jeans style. She's perfect, in every sense of the word that I know.

I should actually give her a call. I think it's ok to stop running, my headache is gone and I'm afraid if I keep moving, I'm going to have a heart attack.

* * *

_JKF, the next morning..._

I stand shoulder to shoulder with Ashley, her hand gripped tightly in mine, watching as the plane pulls up to the building.

That's it, that is the contraption that will carry me away to my new life. Riding high in first class seats, which Ashley was awesome enough to get me one of.

Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Monica all stand behind us. We made up this morning and said our long good-byes so we wouldn't have to do it with an audience of a hundred strangers watching us. Rachel is leaning against Ross with his arm wrapped supportively around her and Monica and Phoebe each have a hand around the other, every once in a while they dab tears from their eyes.

I honestly don't see what's so sad, I'm moving, big deal. I said I'd be back, I said I'd write, I said I'd call, I said I'd visit, what more do they want? Well, for me to stay would be the obvious answer, but I can't give them that.

"Flight 124 to Los Angeles will now begin boarding seats 20 through 30." The lady standing behind the counter next to the door announces, and people begin to get up to gather luggage and restless children.

I look to Ashley and then turn around to face my friends who, with simple eye contact with me, begin to cry even more and I have to remind them that I won't be boarding for a little while yet.

"Do you _really_ need to go?" Rachel asks and clings to Ross even tighter.

I smile and wrap my arm around Ashely. "Yea, I do. I told you guys we'd stay in contact, you act like I'm dying. I'll be back someday."

"Yea, we know that. But now California has stolen two of our group." Ross says and rests his chin on the top of Rachel's head.

I had almost forgot about Joey. I really should have called him and told him that I was moving out there, but now I get the chance to surprise him and beg for forgiveness, I just hope he doesn't own a shotgun..or a pitbull. Monica gave me his address this morning and the paper is still in my pocket, I plan on going there as soon as I get the chance.

"Flight 124 to Los Angeles will now begin boarding seats one through 19."

"I guess we're up next." Ashley announces and looks up into my eyes, silent encouragement.

I nod my head, I've been doing that a lot lately, and drop her hand when I move toward the four.

Rachel's tears become unstopable and she runs forward to give me a hug that, if she was any stronger, could very likely kill me. Monica and Phoebe take off for us and join the hug. Ross comes up to join the group hug and wraps his arms around all of us as we attemt to kill ourselves by dehydration from all the crying.

Ashley patiently stands out of this hug with respect and waits for me by the window.

"Flight 124 to Los Angeles will now begin boarding first and business class."

Wow, time really flies when you're hugging. We break apart and wipe our eyes with our sleves, this is it. The final moment, the last second, whatever it is, it's passing at a ridiculous speed. Ashley steps forward to hand me my backpack and pick up her own.

I sling it over my shoulder and pull my hat on that I had balled up in my hand. I reach in my coat pocket for my boarding pass and ticket on the way to the door with Ashley on my heels.

The lady smiles at me as she takes my pass and quickly glances at it before almost throwing it back at me. I smile a thanks and move to the door to wait for Ashley, who follows just as quickly. She reasuringly takes my hand and we begin our walk to the plane.

I look back one last time and wave to them over my left shoulder, my eyes stop on Monica for a second longer and I turn back toward my future with a smile on my face.

California, here I come.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

_Sorry for not updating for a while, and also sorry that this chapter is so short, but I'm trying to end them in interesting places.  _

_I didn't mean to sound like a bitch by asking for reviews after every chapter, I wasn't aware that I was pissing anybody off, and if you don't like that, I don't care.  It's like writing blind if you don't have any feedback to work off of.  I'm trying to make this a story based on what people want to read, and if nobody tells me what they want, I don't know what to write.  So I'm sorry._

_And when I said I wanted an ipod because I didn't like cd's taking up space, I never said that I had billions of cd's, I was just saying that they take up a lot of room and an ipod is more convenient.  So sorry for that too...I guess._

_Thanks for reading, Please Review!_


	11. chapter eleven

Mason Park - Chapter Eleven

* * *

Ashley wakes me up minutes before we land so I can put my seatbelt back on and catch my first view of my new state. I've only been to California once before and I was really little, I think it was a vacation with my parents, which couldn't have been much fun.

We descend through the clouds and the sun covered state appears before me. The thousands of buildings look so small from here that it looks like a gigantic parking lot.

The airport and runway come closer and closer and before I know it, we're walking off the plane and down onto the concrete. I stop a few feet from the bottom of the stairs and look to the bright blue sky above me. It was snowing when we left New York and there was no blue in sight, It's now two hours ago, the same time that we got _on_ the plane.

Ashley walks up besidesme and just laughs. "What are you doing?"

I look away from the sky and down into her eyes, ironically, it's like I never moved my head at all, her beautiful blue eyes match the beautiful blue sky. "Just getting a start on my tan." I smile at her and take her hand. "Let's go, I wanna go see our new home."

* * *

She pulls the new silver convertible, that was waiting for her at the airport, to a stop in the driveway of one of the nicest houses I have ever seen. "Um, Ash, what are we doing here?"

"Well, you said you wanted to see our new home." She looks at me like I've gone insane and pulls the keys from the ignition.

"I thought you said it was an apartment. This is..._not_ an apartment. This is _amazing._" I pull my seatbelt off and slowly get out of the car, my eyes are too fixated on the house to wander anywhere else. I can't believe I'm going to be living here.

"Did I? Because I would not have my first place of residence in California be an apartment. You should have noticed that we weren't going to be living an apartment building on the ride up here anyway, I mean take a look around, this is like rich city up here. Now come on! I wanna go check it out!" She jumps over the car door and runs to the trunk to get our bags out.

"You mean you haven't been in it yet?"

"No, my manager got it for me. This is the first time I've even seen the outside of it. Now if you wouldn't mind, could you help me here?" She asks, trying to lug the biggest bag of them all out of the trunk.

I run to her side and help yank the thing out before getting the five other bags out. "Why do you have so much stuff? Couldn't you just send it with the movers, like I did? They're going to be here in a few days, what could you possibly need that takes up four suitcases?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know." She says and laughs evily as she begins dragging three of the bags up to the house.

"...actually, _yes_, I _would_." I yell after her and grab the other two bags before slamming the trunk and running up to the house.

She unlocks the door and pushes it open with her foot and as we both step inside, we don't get more than five feet before coming to a dead stop. The house is absolutely amazing, everything about it screams a mixture of "California" and "Hey, look at me, I'm rich".

The high ceilings extend out into the back living area and over the two staircases on either side of the entry way. The walls are painted a white that doesn't hurt your eyes, the floor of the entry way is covered in a beige marble tile that, as it moves to the back of the house, turns into a dark gery carpet, and all the woodwork in the house is made of a light oak.

Ashley drops her bags and the smile on her face makes her look like a seven year old in a candy store. "This is awesome!" She screams and jumps up and down excitedly. She's just too cute. She runs toward me and grabs my hand, hauling me off to look at the rest of the house without a chance to say anything.

"I can't believe this." I whisper in amazement and touch the wall with my finger tips. The entire back wall of the living room is a series of floor to ceiling windows. In the backyard is the coolest pool I've ever seen. The back wall of it just drops off so it looks like you could swim down through the Hollywood hills. I've only seen pools like this on TV shows and in music videos that I've always felt were never made for me. The rest of the backyard is filled with unnaturally green grass and a two foot high wall that runs around from one side of the house to the other, but drops away where the pool is.

"This is too cool!" Ashley screams and comes running at me, full speed, from out of one of the hallways. Just when she's about three feet from me, she dives for me and successfully wraps her arms around my neck, almost bringing me to the ground in the process. "I love my house!"

"I do too!" I scream and start jumping up and down...well, attempting to jump up and down with her in my arms. I walk over to one of the couches in the lowered living room and throw her down. "What do you want to do now?!" I ask, just a _hint_ of excitement in my voice.

"Well, didn't you want to go see Joey?" She asks and props herself up on her elbows. That's right! Joey! I get to go see Joey! It doesn't matter if he's excited to see me or not, I get to see him! Through all that's happened in the past two weeks, even though Monica was my wife and pregnant with my child, I have to say that I've missed Joey the most. It's been hard not having somebody to talk to that understands..or doesn't, as well as him.

"Yea! Let's go do that!" I start jumping up and down again which promps Ashley to get off the couch and attempt to calm me down.

"Ok, Chandler. Hold on, have you even thought about what he's going to say to you? I mean, you haven't seen him in years and now you're just going to show up?"

I pause for a long time with the smile still on my face."......yea." I say cheerfully and quickly sober up before grabbing her hand. "Let's go." I nod my head as if to reassure myself before forcing myself to walk back out of the house that I've lived in for not more than five minutes to go see a friend that I technically haven't seen for more than three years.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

_Sorry for the short chapter again, but I am so close to finishing this! I pretty much have just one or two chapters left to write and then it's over! As sad as that is, I'm happy. This is the first story that I've gone straight through, no stopping for two months or anything. I'm trying to leave these stories at cliff hangers that will get you guys reviewing, but it's just not going so hot. I'd really like to reach 100 reviews on this story before it ends, and with your help, I can get there._

_I'll make a deal with you guys, if I get a substantial amount of reviews, I'll have the next chapter up within two or three days. And just for those out there who think I am, I'm not trying to be annoying in trying to get you guys to review. It's just that it's been a year and this story is the only one that has gotten this many reviews._

_Thanks for reading and if I don't update until then (which I probably will), Happy Thanksgiving!_


	12. chapter twelve

Mason Park - Chapter Twelve

* * *

This is it, we're in his driveway, in the car, in our seats, and my hands are shaking, thank god _I _didn't drive. 

Ashley looks over at me and rubs my arm. "You don't have to do this, we can come back some other time, I mean, we're not going anywhere." Just her smile is enough to give me the courage I need to walk up to that door.

"No, we're here, I'm doing this, now." I smile back at her and get out of the car, as does she. I take a deep, wavering breath and procced to the door.

His house is huge, just like mine, and they're actually not that far apart. I think it took about five minutes to get here, but that was because of all the stop signs and what not.

Behind these walls, Joey stands.

My hands shake and my nerves jump with every step I take towards the door. Why am I so scared? It's Joey.

I reach the front door but my hand refuses to move up. I step back and take a few deep breaths. I force my finger up to the button and press it.

Not ten seconds later, I can hear the lock on the door and see the knob twist. The only way I can describe what I'm feeling right now is comparing it to baseball. It's like the few seconds after somebody hits the ball, when it's just flying through the air and nobody knows what's going to happen. Is he going to catch it? Am I going to have a stroke? ....Why'd I pick baseball? I never watch baseball.

The door opens and Joey stands on the otherside with what must be a look of shock, anger, happiness? I can't tell, and I'm not sure I want to.

He doesn't look much different. His hair is longer, he's tan, he looks more fit, but still stocky. He's wearing jeans and a gray long sleeve shirt.

He rubs his hand over his mouth and shakes his head a little. "What..um, what are you doing here?" He asks me and I wonder if my heart is still beating at all. I'm certainly not breathing, or moving, or blinking. What the hell am I so scared of? I've never been scared of Joey in my life.

I gasp for air and look down at the ground. "I...I'm not exactly sure. But I really, _really_ need to talk to you."

"I'm not sure that's such--"

"Joey, please! We _really_ need to talk!" Ok, I've gone from scared nut to raging phsyco in a matter of seconds, and who says only women have mood swings?

"Ok, ok, calm down." He waves his hands in front of him and backs up. "Come in."

"Um, hold on. I just have to tell Ashley that she can head back home."

"Oh, she can come in if she wants."

"Well, I just kinda wanted to have a private talk."

"No, she can talk with my wife, Katie." Appereanly I've missed a _lot_.

"Your wife? You got married?"

"Um...yea? You knew about th--" Nope, sorry, don't remember hearing about anybody brave enough to settle _you_ down.

An awkwards silence follows and I blankly look around before steping back to the car to retrieve Ashely.

"Hey Ash?" I ask, leaning around the side of the house. She's out of the car and leaning up against it.

"Yea?" She looks up from the ground and unfolds her arms.

"You wanna come in?" She seems to not understand my question, it wasn't that complex was it?

"Sure." She leans over the side of the car and grabs her purse before running up to me. I take her hand when she reaches me and we walk up to the house where Joey is waiting at the door.

He opens the door wider for us and we walk past him quickly. He shuts the door and turns to face us. He tells Ashley that Katie is upstairs in the kids' room and she takes off towards the stairs.

Joey awkwardly turns to me and slaps his hands together in front of him. "You want something to drink?"

I snap my head up and look at him like he just offered me a million dollars. "No, thanks." He turns me toward the living room before running to the kitchen to get himself something.

I take a minute to look around the room before he gets back and I notice how oddly comforting it is. On one wall, there's a giant picutre of the New York skyline, on an adjacent wall is a fireplace, and on the wall across from that are lots of pictures of people, events, and other such things. There's a few of him with other celebrities, some of him and a woman and two children that I can only assume are his wife and kids, and then on the far end of the wall are pictures of the gang back home, _I'm_ even in some.

I realise, as I'm looking at these pictures, that as great as California is, I'm homesick, already. I miss Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica, I miss my apartment, I miss Monica's cooking, I miss Central Perk, hell, I even miss Gunther.

Joey returns with a bottle of beer in one hand and a bowl of chips in the other, not surprising. He sets the bowl down on the coffee table and we both take a seat on two of the four comfy couches that surrounds it. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"A lot of things, everything. I don't know where to start. It's like watching you in a play, wondering which line comes first." We both give an easy laugh and settle back into our seats. So I've successfully broken the ice, I hope.

"Joe, I know you're mad at me about that Janine thing, and I don't know what I did, but if I did sleep with her, or kiss her, or even touch her, I'm so sorry. It just doesn't seem like it's something that I would do, but then why was she just in her underwear? God, I wish I knew what I did, I wish I knew the answer, but I don't."

Joey sighs and picks at the label of his beer bottle. "I'm not mad at you for that anymore, I actually don't really know _where_ I stand. I want to be mad at you, but I don't know if I have reason to be."

I can feel it, the tension is rising again, I hate these situations. It's just a rollercoaster conversation and although I love rollercoasters, I don't like the emotional ones.

"I want to be mad at me _too_. I can't believe I would do that to you again, so that's why I don't think I did it. I mean, you mean more to me than any other one of my friends, you're my brother, and brothers don't do that too each other. But about all this other stuff, like not talking to each other for a really long time, me losing my memory, growing apart, I don't know what to say about that. You have no idea what it's like to not remember anything that happened in the past four years, I can't stand it."

Joey pauses and just stares at me with a look that I can't judge. "Four years, huh? That's a long time. You don't remember _anything_?" He sets his bottle down and leans forward on his elbows.

"Well, I have gotten a few memories back, which oddly, nobody has asked me about. But other than that, I don't remember anything."

"Well..what have you remembered?"

"The fight between you and me, a night with Ashley, me trying to convince you to stay when you were packing, the crash--"

"What crash?"

"The one I was in a few weeks ago, when I lost my memory...you didn't know about it? I thought somebody called you?"

"Well yea, they called me, but I was just not in a mood to talk about you so we just skipped _how_ it happened to _what_ had happened _because_ of it. I didn't know you were in a crash."

A thick silence falls over the room and I don't know what to say. It's like imagining the last conversation you'll ever have, what do you talk about?

"I don't remember much of it, I didn't want anybody to tell me anything about what I can't remember, I want to do this on my own. I don't know why though, I'm not a very independent person."

Joey starts laughing lightly, most likely remembering the countless memories between us that the word 'independent' triggers. It's been a while since I've heard that laugh, and it couldn't make me happier.

"Hey, why don't we all go out to dinner tonight?"

Did he just ask me that? He actually wants to go out in public with me? When I imagined our conversation together, it always ended with him beating the hell out of me or lighting me on fire. Going out to dinner never crossed my mind.

"Who's we all?" I ask, I haven't met his kids or his wife and I think that could make for quite an awkward situation.

"You, Ashley, Katie, the twins, and Me." He counts off on his fingers and finishes with pointing to himself.

"You've got twins?"

"Yea, they're both boys, six years old, and the cutest kids to ever walk the earth." He gets the biggest smile on his face from just talking about them and I realise that he's made the transition from ladies man to family man without a fault.

I smile back at him and stand up. "Well, I think I'd like to meet your family." He shoots out of his chair and races upstairs like a kid on christmas. He may be a family man, but he's still just a kid inside.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

I'm so_ sorry that I'm updating this once again, but this site just refuses to post my notes. sigh_

_So I'm done with the story! All you gotta do is review and I'll post the next chapter! I understand that some people may be confused and not understand the story, so if you have any questions, put them in a review or email me and after I finish posting the story, I'll put up some story notes and what not._

_I've been debating whether I should do an epilouge or not, what do you guys think? Do you want one? I'm not sure what I would put in it._

_Also, what story do you think I should continue after I'm done with this? Or should I just start another new one? I've got lots of ideas brewing in my head and they're just waiting for an opportunity to get out!_

_Anyway, thanks for reading, please review!_


	13. chapter thirteen

Mason Park - Chapter Thirteen

**_-----_**

* * *

_One year later..._

Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross step off the plane and out into the warm California sun. "Oh, I like this, I really like this." Rachel says and spins around as the sun bounces off her skin and lights her eyes.

"Yes Rach, that's fantastic, but we've got places to go and people to see." Ross says and grabs her elbow to usher her inside, abruptly stopping her spinning. Monica and Phoebe give a light chuckle at Ross's "professional" airport attitude, but stop when he turns around to glare at them.

They travel through the airport to baggage claim and then over to the car rental to get a car.

After 15 minutes of Ross arguing with the innocent woman behind the counter, they settle for a small SUV and head off to Chandler's house, when he has no idea.

* * *

_Come on Chandler, just ten more minutes. _

I've been running on this treadmill for nearly an hour already, trying to burn off my latest headache. Over the past year, I haven't remembered much, maybe ten memories, but a new development has been made in my brain, I get the same headaches for no reason, and these ones stay much longer.

I've talked to several doctors and they all say that nothing is wrong with me, that it's totally normal to get horrifically painful migraines. Well, I've got half a mind to take a hammer and go to town on their heads and see what they say then.

I got Ashley to put a gym in our house, even though I only use about two of the machines, the treadmill and the water cooler.

One wall is all mirrors and the opposite one is all windows that also look out into the backyard like the ones in the living room do. The other two walls are painted white and have several pictures on them, not of anybody we know, but of places we've been. Italy, France, London, Australia, Japan, Hawaii, Mexico, China, and of course, New York.

After Ashley's album came out, it went platinum and she let me come along for the world tour, which ended up being a great big vacation for both of us. She had a concert every other night and we always got to the city she was performing in the day before so we could explore.

We're not married, but still going steady, much to my delight. I'm still afraid of commitment which for some reason, I find very odd. Weather it was a dream or some twisted reality, I was married to Monica, so how can I go _back_ to being commitment phobic? All in all, I'm having a great time just dating, you don't have any of the responsibility of marriage, like kids, and vows, and it's ok to not be around each other every day, but we are anyway though.

I've only been back to New York three times. The first time was just a summer visit, I stayed for a week, the second was Thanksgiving, Joey came with and brought his family, that nobody had met, and Ashley came along too, but she spent the holiday with her own family, and the third was Christmas, Joey, the family, and Ashley also came then. I haven't seen any of them in about three months and we don't talk much. I can't lie and say that it doesn't hurt, that we are slowly drifting, and it's my fault. If I had never left, I'd still be across the hall and I'd see them everyday, but I wouldn't have any of what I have now. I just can't have it all, but I also can't seem to find a medium.

Doug never got me a transfer, so I quit my job. I decided that I no longer wanted to work under anybody or have to sit in an office or cubicle all day, so, with Ashley's help, we opened a club in west Los Angeles, which is doing fantastic. I hardly do any work with it though, my assistant takes care of most of my work and only gives the really important stuff to me. I work my own hours, which is about one a day if I'm in the mood, I can fire people whenever I get mad, and I don't have to worry about small paychecks.

I'm actually doing just fine.

* * *

They shuffle up to the door, Monica in the front, and ring the doorbell. Phoebe and Ross are bouncing in anticipation and Monica and Rachel have giant smiles on their faces.

A few seconds later, Ashley opens the door and screams as she jumps up and down in excitement, which only sets off the others as they all join in a group hug. They've all grown quite close over the past three years, the two that Chandler doesn't fully remember included. She hasn't seen them anymore than Chandler, but she talks to them on the phone at least three times a month, with Chandler right by her side.

"What are you guys doing here?!" She screams and continues to jump up and down.

"Well we came to surprise you guys! We haven't seen each other in a while and we wanted to come out here for a change. _Very_ nice house by the way!" Rachel laughs and throws her arm around Ashley's shoulders.

"Oh, that's right! You guys haven't seen it! Come on, I'll give you a tour!" Ashley and Rachel walk a few steps ahead of everybody else as they lead the way through the house.

Enthusiastic 'oh my god's' were heard from Rachel all the way through, and before they got through the first floor, Monica, Phoebe, and Ross fell behind and went off to find Chandler by themselves.

They stuck together for fear of getting lost and checked door after door, none revealing Chandler.

"Wait! I hear something." Phoebe whispers and throws her hands in the air to silence Monica and Ross. "It's coming from down there." She points down the hallway and they take off for the only door down there. Monica flings the door open and screams with joy when she sees Chandler jogging and listening to his headphones.

* * *

I only have two minutes to go when the door is thrown open and Monica, Ross, and Phoebe appear on the other side. I'm so shocked to see them that my feet get tangled and I tumble off the side of the treadmill. I whip my headphones off and throw them across the room in a desperate attempt to get off the floor and to my friends.

"What are you doing here?!" I yell, running over to them and jumping in the middle of a group hug. They all jump back as soon as their skin comes into contact with mine.

"Ewe! Chandler! You're all sweaty!" Phoebe screams and wipes her arms on Ross's shirt, which causes him to squeal and copy Phoebe's actions. We all laugh for a few quick seconds before the focus is turned back to the more important situation.

"We came to surprise you!" They all scream.

"Well I'm surprised!" I lean over to grab a towel off a nearby table and begin to dry myself off. "Where's Rachel? And how'd you guys get in here?"

"Ashley let us in and she's currently giving Rachel a tour. We ditched them because we thought you were more important than your house." Ross explained, a smile still lingering on his face.

"Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how awesome this house is?" I joke and they all laugh as we head back down the hallway to find the girls.

"So you guys just dropped everything to come out here and see me?"

"Well we've actually been planning this for quite a while. It was _so_ hard not to tell you about it." Ross nods and smiles even bigger when I pat him on the back.

"Chandler!" I hear Rachel's astonishingly loud voice yell and brace myself as she runs towards me and practically jumps on top of me. "Ewe! You're all wet!" She screams and shoves me back against the wall with a strength I didn't know she had. "This is a _very_ nice shirt, and you're getting it all...smelly!"

"I'm sorry." Really, I am, but I can't help the laugh that escapes from my mouth at her reaction.

Ashley is standing a few feet away from all of us with the biggest smile of all on her face. It seems that whenever I'm around my friends and find a happy that only exists with them, she gets ten times as happy.

"So how long are you guys here for?" I turn away from her and face anybody that can answer first.

"Just a few days, we've all pretty much used up our sick days _and_ vacation days _and_ personal days, so it's really wearing down. We can't stay away for forever." Monica says with slight disappointment in her voice.

Somewhere deep inside me, I know I still love her. A part of my heart will always belong to her, but she'll never know it...unless she already does of course.

By the time all the giddy happiness is over, we're all sitting around the pool in our swimsuits. I called Joey and told him that the guys were back, he was here within minutes, his family in tow.

The girls are all face up, soaking in the sun and tanning their already perfect skin. The red headed twins are humorously trying to swim around the pool in their water wings and Joey, Ross, and I all have our feet dangling over the side of the pool, watching the kids and sipping on assorted drinks.

I look to Joey, who looks to Ross, and we all stand up and quietly head over to where the girls are. Each of us positions ourselves over one of them, except Katie, and Joey holds his hand over his head, counting to three on his fingers. We all execute at the same time and pick up a girl and run over to the pool to throw them in before we head back to attack a now fully alert Katie.

By the time we get her in the pool, the kids are attacking the girls by viscously splashing them, and we join in by all jumping in at once, creating a massive wave that covers everybody near by.

The girls have forgotten their ruined hair and warmth and are now, with the kids help, determined to drown Joey, Ross and I.

Despite the acts of hostile anger coming from the girls, nobody can stop laughing.

Now if everybody could just stay here, life _couldn't_ get any better.

* * *

Four hours later and we're all sitting around a giant table at one of the fanciest restaurants in all of Southern California, further continuing with sharing what we've been up to in the past few months.

From what I've heard so far, all's well in New York. Ross and Rachel aren't together anymore after another harsh breakup, but each are dating other people and getting on pretty well. Phoebe is still married to Mike and their plans for having kids are looking pretty good. (Emma and Phoebe's baby, that she had last October, were both left with the grandparents.) Monica, on the other hand, has yet to tell her story.

While we were all back at my house, sitting around the pool, I noticed a rather nice ring on her left ring finger, but decided not to say anything about it because people wear rings on that finger all the time, married or not. But with a mind like mine, I can only assume the worst...she's engaged.

Joey finishes telling everybody about his latest movie shoot in some desert in Nevada, a story I've heard several times already and getting quite sick of it.

"So, Monica, what's been up with you lately?" He asks and I involuntarily shake my head. He had to ask that question, now she's going to say what I've been dreading all night and I'll cry myself to sleep because this officially means that I can't have her.

"Well," She starts and some evil spirit inside me wishes that she would choke on her meager garden salad and not be able to finish what she's started. "I got a new job at a restaurant closer to our apartment." Oh yea, over my little Christmas vacation I had to sit through her telling me that she and _Tom_ were moving in together, which pretty much dampened one of my favorite holidays.

"Tom and I have been doing very well, and I actually have some pretty big news." Oh no, _please_ no. If an asteroid crashed into this very building at this very minute, I could be the happiest dead man on the planet. "Tom and I are getting married!" _Why_ does she have to scream that as if I couldn't hear her across the table?

I put on my best fake smile and squeak out the best congratulation I can before trying to hide myself behind my napkin. "And, there's another thing that I haven't even told _you_ guys yet." She motions towards Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross and her smile grows twice as big. "I'm pregnant!" The girls all scream in delight and I think my heart has actually stopped. Her getting married was hard enough, now they have, or are going to have, a baby.

This just isn't right, this isn't fair, this isn't _nice_. Now _Tom_ is going to get everything _I _had. I think I actually _might_ cry. I whisper another congratulation and excuse myself from the table. Ashley watches me and hangs back for a few seconds before walking out of the building after me.

"What's wrong, honey?" She asks in her oh so sweet voice and put one hand around my shoulders and the other on my arm.

I shake my head and run my hand through my hair. "It's nothing, I'm just a little hot." I try to pass off that I'm hot by shaking my shirt collar and wiping my forehead.

"So you came outside? Chandler, It's 80 degrees out here. What's going on?"

"I can't..." How do I tell the woman that I'm madly in love with that the other woman I love is subconsiously destroying my life? "It's nothing, I just have a headache." Yea, that should work, it's always worked before, and it's not something that she can really tell me I'm lying about.

"Oh, honey, do you want your pills? I've got them in my purse, I can just run and get you one--"

"No, no, I'm fine, it's ok." I honestly don't know what would happen if I took one for no reason, and I'm not too keen on finding out.

"Are you sure? I mean, you've _cried_ when you got a headache and didn't have any pills before." She's seriously concerned, and that's enough affection to assure me that I love her more than Monica.

"Yea, babe, I'm fine." I smile and lean in to kiss her sweetly on the lips and wrap my arms around her. "I just want to go to bed with you by my side."

She raises and eyebrow and smiles at me.

"Hey, sex is more of a workout that running, and we've proved it, it works _better_ than running _or_ pills." She laughs and grabs my hand to drag me inside.

* * *

_There, you got your long chapter, but enjoy it, because the next one is the last one! I'm so sad that this is going to be over, I've had so much fun writing it! Oh well, all good things must come to an end, right? Why is that, by the way?_

_Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! _

_Again, what should I do after this is over? Should I start a new story, or should I continue one of my unfinished ones? If I should continue one, which one?_

_Thanks for reading, please review! (I'm only 2 away!)_


	14. chapter fourteen

Mason Park - Chapter Fourteen

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_The next morning..._

"Chandler." The voice so soft reaches my ears and grabs my attention. It's Ashley, and she's curled up against my back, her left arm over mine, supporting her as she leans up to whisper in my ear. The sweet smell of her perfume still lingering on her baby soft skin and her silky hair falling over my chest could have me easily mistaking my bed for heaven.

"Chandler, it's time to get up, I think the guys are here." She whispers and lays her head down on mine, sandwiching my head between hers and the pillow.

Last night when we walked Ross, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe to their hotel, we gave them a key to our house so they could over in the morning without waking us up, I guess they failed.

I slowly roll over, careful not to roll on top of Ashley, and face the ceiling with my eyes still closed. She repositions herself directly on top of me and rests her body on mine. Just the feel of her skin on my bare chest is enough to drive me wild and I do everything I can to control myself and settle for Sunday morning cuddling and listening to the heavy rain fall down against the window.

Neither of us makes any effort to get out of bed and I know if I stay here any longer, I'm going to fall back asleep. I slowly start to sit up with my eyes barely open and my arms holding Ashley to my chest. I maneuver our way off of the bed and across the ridiculously large room to set Ashley in a comfy white chair that we spent a two hours trying to move upstairs from the living room.

I gently set her down as if she were a little child, and move into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Ten minutes later, when I emerge behind a cloud of steam, Ashley is in a bathrobe, the bed is made, and she's laid a pair of jeans and a faded black t-shirt out for me on the bed. The second that I'm ten feet from the door, she bolts behind me and into the bathroom so she can take her shower before I decide that I'm not clean enough.

I approach the clothes and take minimal time putting them on before heading downstairs to greet my friends.

It looks as if it were five years ago and we were all back in New York. Monica is busy cooking away in the kitchen, Ross is sitting by the window with a cup of coffee and the Los Angeles Times, Rachel is in the downstairs bathroom fixing her hair and makeup, and Phoebe is sitting in front of the TV with Joey, his kids placed between them.

I walk into the kitchen to see what Monica is making and as I reach for a piece of bacon, my hand is violently slapped away by a spatula. "Ow!"

"You eat when everybody else eats." Monica threateningly points the plastic cooking utensil at me and gives me her trademark angry look. I turn to Ross, who had been watching us, and he pulls his hand from behind the paper and shows me a big read mark on the back of it where Monica had gotten him too.

I shake my head and pour myself a cup of coffee and head over to the couch where Phoebe, Joey, and the twins sit, every eye transfixed on the screen in front of them.

"What are you gu--"

"Shh!" Before I can even get the whole sentence out, I'm shushed by every man, woman, and child in the room. Apparently I only talk when everybody else talks too.

I once again shake my head and make my way out of the room to head back into the kitchen for the sugar I had forgotten. Just as I extend my arm out to set my cup down, Monica whips around and I start thinking of every possible way to protect myself from the wrath that is her.

"Chandler! You're out of eggs. I need more!" Her hands are set on her hips, the left one still clutching the spatula.

"What? I had a whole carton of eggs in there. Where did they go?"

"Well, if you must know, I used a few of them for making cookies this morning, which will _not_ be eaten until at least _after_ lunch. I used a few to make about half of the breakfast, and a few others were bad."

"Well, why didn't you just send them to their room and tell them not to come down until they were able to control their rebel ness?" I smile at my little joke and stuff my hands in my pocket.

Monica gives me another death glare and I quickly grab my keys and run out the door before I get whipped with a ladle.

About a month and a half after we moved out here, I decided that it would be a good idea for me to get a car too, in case I ever needed to actually _go_ somewhere or if something were to happen to Ashley and her car wasn't here...that and there are no cabs that just randomly cruise these streets looking for rich celebrities that need a ride.

I didn't want anything fancy so I got a small SUV...that just happened to be the most expensive Range Rover that the dealership had. The exterior is painted black and the interior is an off white leather with black trim. It just _happens_ to be the perfect car for me.

I slide into the driver's seat and make my way through the twisting roads and down into west Los Angeles, where the traffic isn't looking too great.

The nearest grocery store is only six blocks away, and as I'm debating if I should just park the car here, where it's not so crowded and walk (I also happen to have a very large umbrella), or wait until I get to the store and spend 20 minutes trying to find a space, I don't notice the stop light that turned red at least five seconds before I got there, and as my car rolls across the intersection, I also don't notice the big 18 wheeler headed right for me.

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to be continued…

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_Ok, I lied, it's one more chapter after this one, sorry. I just thought it would be a better idea to end it here and leave you guys hanging for a little while so I can have time to decide which ending I would like to use. I wrote three different ones that all end differently, all I have to do is chose. Depending on what you guys say in your reviews is how I'll end it. It's your story._

_Thanks for reading, please review!_


	15. The Last One

Mason Park - The Last One

_AN: Sorry, I changed the present tense to past tense, I've been writing my new story like this and it's just easier not to have to switch again. I'm rewriting this, I couldn't find the original._

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I felt like I was floating, swimming through the air in a sea of clouds. I was in pain, but I wasn't uncomfortable. It was almost as if the pain _need_ed to be there. It was the most relaxed I had ever been in my life.

I slowly forced my eyes open, not wanting to leave the comfort the darkness provided me with.

I was scared that I would wake to yet another life. A life where I was the only survivor, or one where I had been abandoned by everyone I loved, maybe there isn't much of a difference.

My eyes drifted around the room, it was definitely a hospital.

I could hear silent tears falling to the floor beside my bed, and I turned my head to see who they belonged to.

Joey sat with his head in his hands, his elbows propped up on his knees. He wasn't crying, but his tears still fell. I wanted to reach out and grab hold of him, I had never seen him look so lost in his life.

My throat was scratchy and I was uncertain that I could get a word out. "Joey." I whispered, and took a deep breath before I tried again, he hadn't heard me. "Joe." I said louder, and he lifted his head, his eyes boring straight into my own.

"Chandler." He whispered, almost as if he had just noticed that I was in the room. "Oh my god." He leapt out of his chair and hovered over me, uncertain as to what he should do. "You're here." He smiled and bent down to wrap his arms around me as gingerly as he could.

I lifted my arm to pat him on the back. "Hey, man." I didn't know where I was, I didn't know anything really, my life seemed like so much of a gamble lately that I just didn't care.

Joey backed away, taking deep breaths through the smile on his face. "I gotta go get the doctor, I'll be back in a second, I promise." He paused when he got to the door and looked at me for a few seconds. "It's good to see you again."

He left the room and I shook my head to try and clear the fog. How long had I been out?

The doctor came in to check a few things but said almost nothing. "I'll let your friends explain everything to you." He smiled and walked out of the room, just like that. Some doctors really are strange.

Joey came back in the room a few minutes later with Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica in tow. My heart jumped when I saw the baby carrier in Monica's hand. Had I really been out _that_ long that she had her baby already?

Rachel and Phoebe ran over to me right away with tears pouring down their cheeks. They both gave me very light hugs, afraid to hurt me, before backing off a little so Ross and Monica could come over. Ross patted me on the chest with a smile on his face, he almost looked like he was about to cry.

Monica handed the baby carrier to Joey, who was right behind her, and rushed to my side with the most emotional look on her face that I had ever seen, I couldn't really decipher what it meant.

"Oh, baby." She cried and wrapped her arms around my neck. I wasn't quite sure what this meant. I wrapped my arms around her the best I could and told her that I was fine. "I was so scared. We didn't know if you were ever gonna wake up, and I didn't think I could raise this baby on my own. I'm so sorry you missed the birth."

Excuse me? Did I hear her correctly? Was she implying that this was _my_ child? My _son_?

I glanced at the baby with the bright blue eyes and looked questioningly back up at Monica. "What?" I whispered.

"I had the baby early. I guess the accident... I don't know. But he's here, and he's healthy. I just wish you could have been with me when he came."

Well, he definitely had to be mine now. "How--how long have I been out?" I looked around to all of them, waiting for an answer that nobody wanted to give me.

Joey looked around to everybody also, wondering who was going to answer. He stepped forward a few feet and rested the carrier on my bed. "Two months." He said it so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

"What's the date?"

"March 3rd."

"..what year?"

For this one, he looked at everybody else in the room again, most likely wondering if I had lost my math skills as well.

"2004." He said, unsure of what was going on in my head.

2004. Not 2005. It was all a dream? But it was so..._real_.

The little baby started to fuss and Monica grabbed him out of his carrier before he could turn it into full blown crying. As she rocked him back and forth, I couldn't help but stare. She was right, she did make a terrific mother, it was her _true_ calling.

She smiled down at him, and then down at me, once he had stopped, and sat on the edge of the bed.

She leaned over to hand him to me, and when I looked at her uneasily, she nodded her head in encouragement.

I carefully settled him against my chest and looked down into his big round eyes, and I just knew.

It was all a dream.

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The End

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_So, how'd you like it? Are you happy? Please, I need to know what you guys think!!!_

_And remember, I'll answer any of your questions now. So if you're just dying to know something, ask away!_

_You guys have been so tremendously great through this whole story, I can't thank you enough for all of the reviews! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it._

_Thanks for reading, please review! _

_And, watch out for my next story! I haven't decided on a title yet, but it's going to be another, some what, mystery. I don't think you could really call it that, but it'll be a drama, and of course, staring Chandler!_

_Thank You!_


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